On The Outside
by Aerilon452
Summary: Katrina and Jenny find them on the outside looking in while the link between Abbie and Ichbod grows stronger by the day. This story is a WIP. Disregard THE END on Ch.2 R&R
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Katrina and Jenny find themselves on the outside looking in.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of SLEEPY HOLLOW

Rating: K

Pairing: Abbie/Ichabod

**ON THE OUTSIDE:**

Katrina watched her husband and Miss Mills conversing quietly, showing each other different texts while the in turn discarded them. She sat in a circle trying to reclaim her powers for their next engagement with the minions of Moloch. Though, each time she tried to concentrate, something Ichabod said and the laugh that followed from Miss Mills distracted her and Katrina found herself watching them once more. She couldn't help but feel a little envious of the camaraderie they shared; of the absolute trust they held in the other. Most of her life with Ichabod had been stitched together with lies. Their love was real, the connection they shared, but their life held dishonesty. Katrina had lied to protect him, to protect herself more. She was a witch and that title alone had condemned many an innocent soul in her time.

"Hey," Jenny sat down next to Katrina just outside the circle she had drawn on the floor. "Can't help but watch them huh?" She asked because she had been doing the same thing for the last hour. Katrina nodded 'yes'. When Abbie and Crane were in the same room everything else, everyone else, seemed to fall from concern for them. It was just them. "Has Crane been sleeping ok?" Jenny asked turning her attention to Katrina. "The reason I ask is because Abbie's been leaving the house in the middle of the night after screaming nightmares." The first time that had happened, Jenny tried stopping Abbie from leaving, tried to get her sister to talk to her, but Abbie fled out into the night, and now she knew where her sister went; to Crane.

Katrina lowered her gaze, "Ichabod has not been sleeping with any peace these last few weeks. He too leaves in the middle of the night." A sigh escaped her. "I know not of where he escapes to." That was another thing festering in her mind. Her husband leaves the warmth of their bed to flee into the uncertain and dangerous night rather than talk to her about his troubles. "I'm feeling less than useful as he doesn't confide in me." She tore her eyes from Ichabod and Miss Mills. "Does your sister share her nightly torment with you?"

"Nope," Jenny tapped her hands on her shins as she sat Indian style on the floor. "She'll scream, wake up, and then leave the house." She sighed deeply and then looked to Katrina. "Tonight I was planning on following her."

"You have such little trust in your sister?" Katrina inquired slightly ashamed that she had contemplated following Ichabod as well. The relationship between her and Ichabod used to be so easy, so fluid, and it used to feel so right between them. It seemed things in this new century were not as certain as they used to be in the old.

"It's not that," Jenny gazed at Abbie as she smiled and chuckled at Crane. "I just want to be there should something happen while she's unprotected and alone." Even as she wanted to hate her sister, to punish her for all time, Jenny still felt the need to protect Abbie from anything that went bump in the night.

Over at the center table Abbie yawned, closed her eyes, and tilted her head from side to side in an attempt to crack her neck. She was doing anything to wake up. Two straight weeks of very little sleep a night was starting to wear her down. Blindly she reached out for, what she thought, was her coffee cup. When she picked it up, took a sip, she discovered that she had taken Crane's cup by mistake. "Sorry," She chuckled setting it back down. "I'm just so tired."

"Think nothing of it," Ichabod said gently taking his cup in hand to drink some of the coffee Abbie had mistaken as hers. "I understand well the toll that's been taken on you. These nights without sleep are causing me some trouble as well, but I have no doubt we'll get through it." He was overcome with the urge to reach across the table and take her hand to show her how much he meant what he'd just said. Ichabod resisted with Katrina in the room. Touching another woman would be an insult to her, to the woman he called his wife.

"I just want to sleep and," Abbie shuffled papers about, "this isn't helping to keep me awake." It was frustrating. She wanted to sleep and at the same time she didn't want to sleep because she didn't know what would be waiting for her. Peaceful dreams that aided in rest or the torment of Purgatory where Moloch waited to chase her and Crane through the dark woods full of lost souls. Last night when she's pulled herself out of the dream realm, she had called Crane as she knew he would be awake. Then, they spent the rest of the night sitting together in the park using the other to level out emotionally. Crane had yet to complain about meeting her, and she guessed she was just waiting for him to tell her to stop calling him.

"Abbie," Ichabod whispered, "We share in this torment; the dreams that plague you are well known to me." He pushed the papers aside so he could give her his full attention. "We have a less than ideal situation, we never know if you'll be pulled into my nightmare, or I into yours. For now, how we cope with it is working for us." In truth he looked forward to the inevitable buzz of his phone letting him know that Abbie was on her way. There was still the part of him that felt guilt over leaving the bed he shared with Katrina, but she couldn't share in the torment of his mind. Not in the way Abbie could. Even though he loved his wife beyond all reason, there was a broken trust between them. He knew all the reasons for her secrets, for the lies she told him to protect them both and yet, there was still the hesitation to confide in her when he wasn't sure she was being fully honest with him.

Abbie closed her eyes, "You only call me 'Abbie' when you want to make a point." She said with a small smile. "I guess, I just feel bad when I text you and tell you I'm half way to the cabin, and I know I can do that because you'll already be awake having suffered through the same nightmare." Abbie was careful to keep her voice barely above a whisper. "You should be sharing all of this with Katrina, not me." Then his words were echoed back to her, _'All we really get in this life is one another.'_ She wanted to believe that more than anything, she really did, but it was hard. Throwing her hands up Abbie said, "Let's just get back to work." It was her way of saying, 'I'll leave it alone if you leave it alone.' Ichabod inclined his head, and they set about shuffling through papers pulled from files on how to create their own monster to combat Moloch.

**THAT NIGHT:**

Thrown from a fitful sleep, Ichabod sat up quickly in bed, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He'd just come from another hellish dream where he was locked once more in that plain pine box nearly suffocating. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he scrubbed his hands over his face and then through his hair trying to rid himself of the terrible chill rolling through his body. Ichabod climbed out of bed to dress for he knew that any minute his phone would buzz with a message from Abbie. Despite her reservations from the afternoon, she would contact him. This time, it had been she who was pulled into his dream. They had been buried alive, struggling for air, and face to face with the possibility of death. In the coffin, every breath they took, they took together. Then, the moment he slipped his coat on, from inside the pocket, his phone buzzed. That brought a smile to his face as he silently left the room where his wife still slumbered in bed.

Katrina woke the moment Ichabod started to toss and turn, the moment his breathing went from even to labored. She knew not to wake him as she lay next to him. After 250 years in purgatory she still was unaccustomed to the helpless feeling that descended upon her. More than anything she wanted to rip the nightmares from his mind, but at the moment her powers were barely anything. Katrina was forced to stand idly by while Ichabod suffered and was forced from her to seek solace with another. She wasn't jealous of Abigail Mills because she knew Ichabod wouldn't dishonor their marriage vows with tawdry affair. Katrina was jealous of the trust he placed within her. She was left with no choice but to let him leave. As Miss Jenny suggested earlier that day, she would follow them, and feel guilty while doing it.

Outside, Abbie stood by her Jeep Cherokee waiting for Crane. Even though she'd sworn she wouldn't contact him tonight, all of her good intentions went right out the window when she woke up from his nightmare. The need to be unconfined spurred her from her bed, from the comfort of her blankets, and out into the cool night air and wide open space. From there she was driving all the way out to the cabin. Relief flooded through her when she saw him walking towards her. Abbie met his half way, and as he'd done before leaving Purgatory with Katrina, he pulled her into his arms to hold her closely to him. "I had no idea." Abbie mumbled tightening her hold on Ichabod.

"It's alright." Ichabod soothed. "Everything will be fine." It was a lie they often told to the other because the genuinely believed it. Gently, up and down, he moved his hands on her back wishing to dispel the chill he knew she had to be feeling. "These shared dreams can't plague us forever." Even as the dreams were designed to make them question reality, to test the bond between them, Ichabod stayed true to Abbie, he never lost faith in her just as he knew she would never lose faith in him.

"Forever is generous," Abbie scoffed. "We only get seven more years." She let that hang between them. Having a ticking time clock on her life should scare her, but she was going to be facing whatever Moloch threw at them with Crane at her side, and that took the fear away. There was nothing she couldn't face with him. It was becoming more and more difficult to force herself from his side, to tell herself that she didn't need anyone when in truth she needed Crane. She found an emotional stability with him that she never would have with anyone else.

Ichabod held her tighter side stepping the issue of their seven years of tribulation and potential death by asking, "Where shall we wait out the remainder of our night?" Leaning back, he rested his hands on her shoulders. They had discussed at great lengths why their dreams linked them until they finally stopped talking about it. "Would you be amenable to sitting on the small dock overlooking the lake?"

"Sounds relaxing," Abbie nodded taking a step back from Crane. He offered her his hand and she readily placed hers in his. Normally she wouldn't be doing this, letting a man guide her around, but Ichabod; this was good manners for him. He walked a little in front of her, looking out for anything that would make her stumble. Though, if she stumbled she knew Crane would catch her.

Sitting with his back resting on one of the posts, Ichabod held out his arm for Abbie to join him. It delighted him when she sat down next to him, stretched her legs out, and rested her back against his side pulling his arm over her shoulder. He took it one step further by lacing their fingers together. Idly he rubbed his thumb up and down her index finger while his face was turned towards the horizon while he waited for the sun to rise. Having Abbie at his side did more for him in his attempt to push aside the anxiety of the dream than talking would have done. With Abbie he didn't have to use words, she already knew. He would have to relive the torment if he shared his dreams with Katrina. Hiding this from his wife, not being able to share it dug a knife in his heart and twisted, but this he could not share with her. Abbie alone knew the full weight of what he'd gone through. Katrina refused to speak of her time in Purgatory, even to him, even when he asked.

Abbie closed her eyes leaning her head back against Ichabod's shoulder. She breathed in and out slowly banishing the rest of the panic she'd felt leaving her house, leaving her sister. Breathe in, breathe out, and let all the negativity leave with the exhale. At least that's what she tried to do. The only way she could calm down was like this, from the warmth of Crane's arms. Moloch had sought to leave them with a lasting scar; nightmares that plagued them night after night. They were nightmares that she and Crane shared. It reminded her of the time they had both entered the dream world to combat the Mohawk dream demon Ro'kenhronteys. Crane willingly put his life on the line for her without her asking him to. "I really had no idea how bad it was for you in that box." Abbie said again wanting to talk about something. "How'd you get out?"

Ichabod drew in a calming breath, resting his cheek atop Abbie's head. "I won't lie; I thought I was to die in my son's coffin. As I lay there I devised a plan using the soil laced with sulfur. I recorded you a message letting you know that I never stopped fighting, that I tried in vain to get to you. Then constructing a rudimentary bomb, I lit the fuse and nearly blew myself up." He chuckled dropping a small kiss to the top of her head.

"You blew yourself up?" Abbie laughed lightly tightening her hand on Ichabod's. When she'd summoned him to Purgatory, he didn't mention his near death escape. She hadn't even asked either. All that mattered was that he was alive and that he was hell bent on freeing her. "I'm glad you're ok." She squeezed his hand.

"Admit it; you appreciate me a little more now." Ichabod teased her as he had when he reconstructed the map. It made him feel good that they were able to joke in the face of impending doom.

Abbie shook her head, "Microscopically." She replied turning in his hold to rest her cheek on his chest, her eyes looking out over the water. "I always appreciate you." Abbie said lightly letting the truth fall between them.

Katrina could not stem the rise of her tears as she watched on while Ichabod and Miss Mills spoke softly to one another. In all her years, whether on earth or trapped in Purgatory, she couldn't have predicted the profound bond the two witnesses shared. She watched as they sat together, aligned perfectly with their hands joined. Was she really free from Purgatory to watch her husband slip away from her? Turning from the sight silently she made her way back to the porch where she saw Miss Jenny waiting for her. Katrina had nothing to say. She was still trying to understand what it was she had seen between Ichabod and the lieutenant.

Jenny stepped out of the shadows when she saw Katrina coming back to the cabin. She felt for the powerful red head. So much time spent in the clutches of a demon only to return to the world that wasn't her world. Jenny stepped outside of her personality for a little while going to Katrina to wrap her arms around the witch. "I know." It was all she had to say. She found it hard to live with Abbie knowing that her sister wouldn't confide in her about what made her scream in terror every night. In the past few weeks Jenny truly thought she and Abbie had made leaps and abounds in their reconciliation of trust.

"I truly did not think it would be like this." Katrina mumbled pulling back from Miss Jenny. "I thought I would be freed from Purgatory and we'd go back to being how we used to be." She confessed to her new found friend in Jennifer Mills. "This must still be my punishment for all the lies I've told him." Now she was just feeling sorry for herself.

Jenny felt for Katrina, all that time locked up in a place she didn't deserve to be, "We're all just finding our feet here." She sighed, "And as much as I hate to say it, working this new balance out is just going to take some time until we're all used to it." It was frustrating, confusing, and downright exhausting trying to balance this life with the impending war against Moloch. "We're all in this together." She said quietly hoping that her words offered her some measure of comfort.

"I fear we will remain on the outside looking in." Katrina replied turning her head to look in the general direction of the dock. As much as she wanted things to return to the way they used to be between her and Ichabod, Katrina knew that it wasn't meant to be, but she wasn't ready to give up. She would fight to reclaim her life with the man she loved. Katrina only hoped that Ichabod wished to live that life with her once more.


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: Katrina and Jenny find themselves on the outside looking in.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of SLEEPY HOLLOW

Rating: K

Pairing: Abbie and Ichabod

**ON THE OUTSIDE:**

**THE NEXT AFTERNOON:**

Ichabod sat back in his chair watching Abbie sleep all curled up in one of the red leather wall mounted chairs. He was content to keep vigil over her and for a fleeting moment he wished that they were stretched out together, arms locked around one another. The thought was wrong, he knew that, but he wanted to know what it felt like just once. Right now they were alone as Miss Jenny had taken Katrina out to show her the new Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod regrettably found the alone time with a sleeping Abbie to his liking. That only filled him with regret as it should have been Katrina he spent most of his time with after 250 years apart. Looking on over Abbie, he saw the first stirrings of a nightmare beginning to take hold of her, saw her brow furrow. This time he wished he too was unconscious so that he might help her brace this new dream terror. However that was not meant to be. All he could do was wait, to watch over her until she managed to fight her way free. Ichabod knew that when she woke, he alone could offer her solace for the torture of the emotional soul deep scars left on them by Moloch.

Abbie was once more running through the woods, but it wasn't the Horseman of Death or even Moloch that pursued her relentlessly; it was War. Back in Purgatory she ran through the trees, dodging lost soul after lost soul in an attempt to escape the Horseman of War. She knew she was being herded towards Moloch's lair and each time she tried to change the direction a new obstacle would spring up out of nowhere. This would force her to double back, crossing paths with War once more. Gnarled tangled trees came into view. She was getting close to the lair of the demon. Having enough, Abbie stopped and faced down War; she was tired of running. War galloped towards her, testing her, but Abbie would no break, she was going to stand her ground. War charged her, and just as his sword sliced through her abdomen Abbie woke up. Her chest was heaving with intense effort to catch her breath. She bounded out of the chair and blindly into Ichabod's arms. With his warm surrounding her, she was able to pull the rest of her mind out of that dream. Abbie was awake and she was alive. Ichabod was with her.

Ichabod caught Abbie holding her as tightly as she clung to him. "What did you see?" She shook her head, pressing her forehead into his chest, and tightening her hold on him. He closed his mouth, choosing to remain silent. Ichabod brought his right hand up and cupped the back of her head while his left arm slid across her back to keep her against him. Abbie dug her fingers into the fabric of his coat forcing Ichabod to smile. All too quickly he'd become accustomed to the feeling of her arms around him, of the way she alone anchored him to the modern world. "Will you tell me what you saw?" He asked in a voice barely above a whisper. Abbie once more shook her head, but this time she rested her cheek on his chest. Ichabod could still feel the tension in her body, as well as the fear. "It was only a dream." Ichabod soothed gently running his hand up and down her back. "You're in the waking world with me, safe and sound where nothing can harm you now." Yes, it was a lie, but it was just another one they had grown to use more and more.

Abbie drew in a few calming breaths to steady her nerves before she even dared to pull away from the strength and security Ichabod's arms provided her. Then, with considerable effort, she was moving back out of his arms distinctly aware of the lack of warmth as a chill raced up her spine. "Why did you let me fall asleep?" Abbie grumbled wrapping her arms around her. To forestall his response, which would have been something along the lines of 'You needed rest,' so she chose to relate the details of her dream to him. "I wound up running through Purgatory again." Abbie scoffed. "I'm getting really tired of that scenery and of being chased. The only difference this time, it was the Horseman of War that…" Abbie's right hand flew to her abdomen, pressing in gently searching for a wound. "He killed me this time…" Her words came out in a rush. "War drove a sword right through me…" This time when Ichabod drew her back into the circle of his arms, Abbie didn't stop him. This dream had shaken her more than she was willing to admit just yet. It was the first time that she had felt her death.

Ichabod held tight to Abbie feeling the first stirrings of anger course through him. It was one thing for him to be threatened with death, but it was quite another when Abbie was forced to feel her death from the confines of a nightmarish world left to them by Moloch. "If I had the power to tear these dreams from your mind, I would in a heartbeat." This time, as much as he hated to do so, he was the one to remove himself from her arms. He once more took his seat where he had been watching her slumber, and pulled her close to stand between him parted knees. Ichabod wasn't sure when it happened, how it happened, but there was a deep abiding hunger for her touch, for the warm weight of her hand in his. Letting her slip from his grasp was something he wasn't willing to let her do. "I find myself wishing I could assure you of our future, of our continued life beyond seven years, but such assurances escape me," Out of character for him, Ichabod took Abbie's right hand and placed it against his cheek. He drew in a breath just then from the warmth of her skin.

Abbie wasn't sure what she should do or how she should react to this level of contact between her and Crane. Since escaping Purgatory with him, their connection in dreams, she had been craving his touch, craving the warmth of his arms. Going on instinct, trying not to over think anything, Abbie used her other hand to cup the back of his head as he had done to her. Gently, using her hand upon his face, she tilted his face up until his eyes met hers. "What are we doing?" She asked, desperation clinging to her voice as the full weight of how they were standing together settled over her. He was married. That alone should have made her pull back, but she found she hadn't the will power to step back. No one in her life had felt as good as Ichabod felt when holding her close, soothing away the terror left in her soul from Moloch. If she thought she had the pure will power alone, then she would run out the door and leave Crane to mend things with Katrina. Abbie, in reality, wasn't that strong, not when this connection to Ichabod was so strong that she wasn't sure how to manage it.

"I wish to know what this feels like, if only for this moment. I want to commit to memory the warm weight of your hand as it rests upon my cheek. I want to breathe in as you breathe in." Ichabod waited until Abbie exhaled, and then together they breathed in. "I know not what will happen in this life, in this war, but for right now I need you." To prove the weight of his whispered words to her, Ichabod leaned forward resting his ear over her heart, and wrapping his arms around her waist. For just this single moment in time he was going to be selfish, he was going to seek comfort from a woman not his wife, from a woman who had come to mean the world to him. As much as he loved Katrina, he knew he couldn't completely cut Abbie out of his life, couldn't break the bonds they had forged, or the emotions that had grown between them. He needed them too much, relied on them to keep himself from losing his grip on a reality not his own. "Just allow me this time to be selfish, to imagine a different course for my life."

"Ok…" Abbie muttered running her hand down the back of Ichabod's head over and over again. In all the mornings they had spent together running out the remainder of the dark sky, they had never been this brutally honest about their needs, about what they needed from the other. Instinctually they had just taken to sitting closely, to having some part of their body touching to allay any fears that this world wasn't real. Maybe that's what this craving for his constant contact was for; reassurance. She wasn't going to stop him from taking what he needed, just as she knew he wouldn't stop her. "I'm not going to tell you to stop." Abbie said. "Because, I need you too." She confessed quietly.

"Thank you for that," Ichabod replied, glad to hear that she needed him as well. "I honestly need to feel some stability right now and you alone are where I find it these days." They were cast as Witnesses in this battle with Moloch; thrown together to face certain danger and in the end they would more than likely face their potential death together. This time, the thought of their death, sent a shockwave of fear running through him. His arms tightened on her, bringing her in as close as he could manage. "I cannot lose you, Abbie." The words fell from his lips before he meant to say them. She had come to hold so much meaning for him. Tilting his head back, he looked up at her, "Promise me something." When she nodded, he continued, "Never be far from my side for as long as we can manage."

Abbie felt the full weight of his words slam into her. "I doubt I could even if I wanted to." She said. "I don't know what's happening between us. This connection, this all-consuming need I have to near you…" she trailed off unsure how to finish that statement. Then she looked at Crane once more and instantly knew her words weren't needed. He understood well what she was trying to say as he felt it too. "What do we do?" Abbie asked cupping his face with both of her hands. Gently her thumbs caressed his cheeks as she waited for his answer.

Ichabod, with a trembling voice, said, "I wish I had the words to answer you, but none will suffice as I know not of what to say."

Abbie chuckled at the colorful way in which Ichabod had spoken. She lowered her forehead to his, their brows touching, "I didn't understand a damned word you said."

Ichabod laughed lightly in turn, offering his reply, "Yes, you did."

"You must be rubbing off on me." Abbie said putting a little space between them. The desperation that had been riding them mere moments ago seemed to have abated. Stroking his face with her hands, she asked, "How do I let you go?" She needed to know, needed to be prepared for that moment when he told her they had to stop.

Ichabod heaved a sigh and replied using her question, "How do _I_ let go of you?" His fingers dug into the cotton of her shirt to prove that he didn't want to take his arms from around her. This was far out of his character. He was a devoted husband, at least that's how he used to think of himself since coming to know Abbie. Some small part of him had begun to move on when it looked like Katrina would never be free from Purgatory.

"I don't know," Abbie answered. "And that scares me." She took a small breath in, "You're married."

"That I am." Ichabod said not relinquishing his hold upon Abbie. "And yet I can't seem to remove my arms from you."

"Well," Abbie curled a lock of his hair around her index finger, "we're going to have to find a way to try and control this driving hunger we have to be constantly near each other."

"Is that really what you wish?" Ichabod tried not to feel shock at her words, but he knew she was saying them because she had to.

"No," Abbie shook her head, "But it's what has to happen." As much as hated to, she tried to take a step back from him. Like she knew she would, she failed to extricate herself from Ichabod's grasp. "And yet, I can't seem to let you go either." Closing what little distance they had between the other, Abbie once more rested her forehead to Ichabod's. Together they breathed in and out, their bodies becoming synced. Their bond would be the one thing that would save them in the coming battle.

**THE END:**


	3. Chapter 3

**SUMMARY:** Things in Sleepy Hollow have changed for the two witnesses. New allegiances will be formed.

**DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing of Sleepy Hollow

**PAIRING:** Ichabod/Abbie

**RATING:** T+

**A/N:** I've decided to add a few more chapter to this story! Hope y'all enjoy what's to come.

**ON THE OUTSIDE:**

**1 MONTH LATER:**

Abbie didn't know what she was doing as she leaned against the trunk of the tree while she waited for Ichabod to show. In the last month so many things had happened to them. They raised the Kindred, lost the head of the Horseman of Death, run into the Pied Piper, a mercenary named Nick Hawley, and found out that Katrina had had a hand in the death of someone Ichabod cared for as family. Then there were still the shared dreams between them. Some nights they were hellish, full of terror and running, and it would lead to them spending the rest of the night awake, either on the phone or they would meet up somewhere. Then some other nights the dreams were sweet and gentle, it left them able to sleep out the night. Abbie wasn't sure why they were still connected like this. She wasn't sure she wanted it to stop either. Looking around, Abbie searched the shadows for any sign of Ichabod. When she found no trace of him yet, she checked her watch and tried to battle back the terrible knot of anxiety forming in the pit of her stomach. As she turned to leave, relief washed through her when she saw Ichabod coming into the light of the moon.

Ichabod had taken up a mirroring position under the shadow of a tree to watch Grace Abigail Mills waiting for him. She moved back and forth, checked her watch, and then looked up at the branches of the tree. From this distance he could see she was nervous, just as nervous as he was about being here. A part of him, the bone deep honor he had, screamed at him to be at home with Katrina, to work through the sting of betrayal he felt whenever he looked at her. The thought of his wife left a sour taste in his mouth, left a hole in his heart. Katrina had been adamant that she had no part in Mary's death, but it was the way she said it that left him questioning everything she told him. They had faced a spirit dubbed the Weeping Lady since before he was buried in the cave, only to discover that it was indeed the ghost of his former fiancée Mary Wells. Knowing that she was dead broke his heart. He'd grown up with her, viewed her as his little sister, and now he had to face the reality that she hadn't returned to England. She had died. Katrina had been there and lied to him about it. That event, and others, had led him to make this rendezvous with Abbie tonight. Ichabod stepped from the shadows just as his Lieutenant was about to leave. "Hello Abbie." He greeted with a small gentle smile upon his lips.

"You're late," Abbie smirked because she couldn't help it when he was smiling at her. She had been about to run, but seeing him in the clearing bathed in moon light changed her mind in a fast second. There was no hesitation from her, no second thoughts. Abbie pushed away from the tree she had been leaning against and went to Ichabod. Each step she took had the anxiety falling away, yet not completely leaving her. When she reached him, she draped her arms over his shoulders as his came around her waist. He picked her up, holding her against him. Abbie wrapped her legs around his waist on instinct. Ichabod responded in kind, his hands sliding down her waist until his fingers gripped the back of her thighs, holding her so close to him. She held him tightly reassuring herself that he was real, that they were awake, and that this wasn't a dream. Abbie hardly noticed when Ichabod started walking across the clearing back to the tree she had been waiting under.

Ichabod stopped just short of the tree trunk and then carefully lowered them down to the ground. Once more his hands took to her waist as he leveled his gaze to hers. There could be no hesitation between them. "Would you permit me?" Ichabod asked bringing his hands up, his fingers grasping the lapels of her leather jacket. Abbie nodded slightly keeping her eyes set to his. She dropped her arms letting him pull the garment down and away from her body where it rested on the ground behind them. Then he brought his hands back to rest on her sides just below her ribs. His breathing grew labored from the heat of her body bleeding into him. When he was with Abbie, feelings resonated deeper inside of him. Ichabod wasn't sure why and he wasn't inclined to question it anymore.

Abbie mirrored Ichabod, her fingers digging into the lapels of his old coat that she had first seen him in through the bars of the jail cell. "May I?" She asked, waiting for his consent which he gave in the form of a nod. Pushing the rough fabric down until it pooled around him. Between them their hearts were beating in a thunderous counterpoint to each other. Then she set her hands flat upon his chest, her fingers playing with the shirt ties. Knowing that he would let her, Abbie pulled free the first tie of his worn mended grey shirt, then the second, and then on down until she was deterred by the top of his breeches.

Ichabod sucked in a breath when a cool breeze of air blew across the flesh of his chest. Abbie finished with the ties, a wicked grin playing on his lips when she brought her hands up to once again rest on his chest. Her right hand rested over his heart where his heart beat faster and faster at her touch. Once more his sense of honor raged at him, demanding he be the dutiful husband and go back to his wife. Ichabod couldn't. He wouldn't. Not this time. He placed his hands over Abbie's and muttered, "Why is it when I'm with you, I feel things so deeply that I thought I felt with Katrina?" Ichabod wished to the heavens he knew the answer as he rested his brow to Abbie's.

"I don't know," Abbie answered quietly turning her hands over so her palms were pressed to his and their fingers could lace together. Ichabod immediately tightened his hold on her hands. "I try not to think too hard about us, about how we are together." It was the truth. If Abbie put all of her energy into thinking about HOWS and the WHYS of Ichabod coming into her life then nothing would get done and Moloch would have had a foothold in their world by now. She pulled back from him and pressed a kiss to his furrowed brow. "We're together now, we're fighting the good fight, and we have something that no one can touch." She added hoping he believed her.

Ichabod sighed contentedly, "I wish I had the ability to do that." He took his hands from hers. "There would be nothing that would please me more than to stop thinking, to just feel, and to marvel at all that I see when I'm with you." Before he could stop himself, he set his lips gently to Abbie's. For a moment she froze, her body went rigid in his arms, and then quickly relaxed into him. There was passion coursing between them, but what shocked him was how natural this felt, the touch of their lips, the alignment of their bodies. Everything about this felt so right. It was meant to happen.

Abbie started to shake from the inside out. Ichabod always had this effect on her, but now she didn't have the distance between them to reign in the shaking and get herself under control. This kiss was gentle, it was sweet, and it was testing while holding the promise of passions yet to be explored between them. Leaning back Abbie bit her bottom lip while trying to explain with her gaze that she wasn't rejecting him.

"You're shaking…" Ichabod whispered running his hands up and down her arms when she pulled back. I knew she was nervous, hesitant even. This was something new for them, something they never thought would happen had it not been for the shared dreams, the way they sensed what the other was thinking. "Abbie tell me what's wrong." He pleaded gently.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Abbie whispered bringing her hands up to cup his face. Since that moment, in the archives a month ago, she had a feeling this was where they were heading from the way Ichabod had held her close resting his ear against her heart. He had asked her to let him be selfish for that single moment in time. Abbie had let him.

"We say that every time we take to each other's arms." Ichabod pointed out gently. "Nothing has happened, not until now." He rationalized resting his hands on top of her thighs. There was nothing that hadn't happened that they hadn't consented to. "All we seek is the warm press of a comforting touch to chase away doubt, fatigue, and the remnants of those tormenting nightmares. Nothing will happen between us that we do not fully consent to. I swear that to you."

"I know that… really I do." Abbie said. It was probably the one thing about the shared dreams that made them bearable. She had Ichabod who knew without a doubt what was happening in the dark of the night. He alone could give her the strength she needed to keep fighting even though Purgatory made it seem like he was her greatest weakness. "I just feel like its cheating." She confessed.

Ichabod nodded in understanding. On several occasions when he found himself in the arms of Abbie, he would have to remind himself that he was in love with Katrina; over and over he would repeat it. "Every moment I find myself with you like this, I recite in my mind repeatedly that, 'I love Katrina'. I shouldn't be reminding myself of that if it was really true, and it's not because of the lies that were revealed. I've felt it from the first moment I met you contained within that cell." He too confessed, and with the words spoken the weight that had been pressing down upon him lifted. Ichabod gipped the hem of her simple white shirt pulling it up. He paused searching her gaze for consent. It was there in her dark depths. "In your arms, I am never closer to another soul."

Abbie lifted her arms, her shirt vanishing from her body, revealing a simple grey camisole. "I feel the same." She replied lightly. Cupping the back of his neck with her left hand, Abbie used her right hand to loosen the leather tie holding his brown locks away from his face. She loved when his hair was down framing his face. It gave him a softer look, almost angelic in nature. "We were always meant to find each other." Abbie said as his hair fell free. This time it was she who kissed him, infusing the full weight of her emotions into it. She wanted him to feel what she was feeling in that moment.

Ichabod moaned into Abbie's kiss while he let her set the pace. All of this had to be her choice. He took his cues from her. It had to be that way. Her fingers fisted in his hair, tugging in just that right way that was more pleasure than pain. It had a purely masculine growl rumbling in his chest as he gipped the back of her thighs once more, rose to his knees, and changed their position putting Abbie beneath him, setting her down on his jacket. Planting his hands on either side of her hips, he levered himself up to gaze down upon her. The silvery light of the moon cut across her face lighting her eyes. Ichabod was awestruck by her beauty, and not for the first time. Here in the place the world fell away. There was no coming apocalypse, there was no Moloch, no Horsemen of Death and War, and there was no life outside of Abbie.

Abbie needed Ichabod, needed the press of his body to hers. She needed the heat of him to chase away the cold. His lips kissed the side of her neck, teeth teasing her pulse point in a wicked manner that brought a moan from between her lips. Then he kissed the underside of her chin, the bristles of his beard scraping her skin pleasingly. Ichabod had just started to nibble on her jaw when the snapping of a twig broke the haze between them. They bother reacted, freezing at the same time. "You heard that too?" Abbie asked in a hushed whisper even though she knew he had heard it. Without being told, he moved from her sitting back while still remaining between her parted thighs. Remaining where they were, Abbie scanned the darkness, cursing the untimely arrival of the mist that covered the ground and that was creeping closer to them. That was never a good sign. Again, without having to ask him, Ichabod handed her shirt and her jacket back to her. Pulling them on quickly she got up with Ichabod following suit. Signaling that she would go to the right, she motioned for him to go left. He inclined his head in acknowledgement.

Ichabod did as he was silently bade, but made sure to keep Abbie in his sight. There was something not quite right about the timing of that twig snapping. The moment he lost sight of Abbie, he abandoned the search and circled around to where she was. Returning to her side Ichabod lightly rested his hands on her shoulders. He whispered, "I found nothing." This time unlike the others Abbie jumped at his touch.

Abbie turned apologizing with her eyes. She hadn't meant to jump and then shook her head before turning her back on him to once again scan the misty night for what had interrupted them. This time she holstered her department issued firearm feeling some of the tension ease out of her with Ichabod at her side. He reached for her against, this time his arms slipping around her waist so he could pull her back against his chest. Abbie sighed in relief. "It's insane, but I know something's out there." She muttered when he rested his chin atop her head.

Ichabod chuckled dropping a kiss the top of her head, "could it be that you still expect the dark spirit to appear and try to drown you?' He asked, trying to tease her to ease the sudden thrum of tension running through her. It mirrored his own, as he too could sense something out there watching them.

"Maybe," Abbie replied resting her hands over Ichabod's. "This is crazy." She said again and pulled away from him. Distance, she needed a little distance from him at the moment. His touch could always cloud her mind when she needed to think. Ichabod held up his hands and gave her what she needed. Walking a little away from him, she started to pace. Looking back at Ichabod she felt her heart melt all over again. He had his hands clasped behind his back, his head was lowered, and he was giving her the space she needed. Then he looked up at her, at first there was a gentle smile upon his lips, but all too soon it fell and his face morphed into a mask of horror. That's when Abbie heard it, the thundering gallop of hooves. Turning on instinct she saw the Pale Rider speeding towards her out of the mist; his battle axe drawn. Just as he swung out at her, her body was being pulled to the ground. Crane had her.

Ichabod had been keeping a respectful distance from Abbie while making sure his gaze was trained on her. He too felt a malevolent force concealed in the mist watching them. She looked to him, smiled, which had him returning the grin, but it was short lived. Before his mind had time to register what he was doing, his feet were carrying him towards Abbie to get her away from Death as the Horseman charged towards her. The axe swung down just as Ichabod wrapped his arms around Abbie to pull her to the ground. He gave no pause to check on her, not at this moment. Ichabod pulled a shimmering vial from inside of his jacket, something Katrina had cooked up. Pulling the cork free, he threw the potion towards Death and watched at the potion inside transported the Pale Rider far from them.

Abbie was on the ground her hand gripping her right shoulder. There was the telltale wet warmth of blood trickling through her fingers. "Crane!" She shouted in a strangle cry of agony. He had pulled her to safety, but not fast enough. Abbie closed her eyes for a moment, and then when she opened them again he was with her. She didn't dare move her hand away from her wound. It felt as if he'd nearly cut her arm off. But first thing was first, "Where is here?"

"Sent far from here via the aide of a powerful potion," Ichabod answered her pulled the small torch that Abbie called a 'flashlight' from his pocket and clicked it on. There was so much blood spreading rapidly over Abbie's white shirt. Anger racked him mixing with the fear that she was going to bleed to death. He had to set it aside, had to help her. Gripping the hand of the torch in his mouth, Ichabod shrugged out of his jacket and pulled off his shirt. Folding it haphazardly he held it against her wound, taking her hand to place of the shirt to staunch the flow of blood. Ichabod wasted no time in explaining what he was doing, he just had to do it. He took the sleeves of his shirt wrapped them around her shoulder and then tied them off.

Abbie bit back a blood curdling scream of pain when Ichabod applied pressure to her would with his ratty old shirt. 'At least it's clean' she thought with small smile. "How bad is it?" Abbie asked through clenched teeth. At first Ichabod wasn't looking at her, he wasn't answering her. With her foot she lightly kicked his side and asked again, "How bad?" This time he looked at her, the fear plain upon his face.

"I have to get you to the nearest hospital." Ichabod answered her in a roundabout way. "You many not want this, but if you would allow it, it would be a good idea if I were to carry you to your vehicle." He waited for he to consent or for her to decline his offer of aide. If he carried her, it would prevent her from losing much more blood, but Abbie was independent, strong, and brave. She wouldn't want to show weakness.

Abbie's gut reaction was to sit up to keep Crane from carrying her. She made it half way before she fell back to the ground sending a shockwave of pain radiating through her. Abbie clenched her jaw shut and tried to breathe evenly through her nose. Normally every choice she was offered by him, he let her make on her own. This time he made it for her. Ichabod moved to her left side, brought her arm across his shoulders with his right arm going across her back, and his left hand slipped under her knees. Abbie dug her fingers into his jacket out of anger or gratitude, she wasn't sure.

Ichabod hated to take the choice from her, but he needed to get her to the nearest hospital before too much of her blood was lost. "Ready?" He asked. When she nodded, he tried as carefully as he could to stand up without jarring her wound. To her credit Abbie burried her face in against the crook of his neck stifling a cry of pain. "Forgive me for robbing you of this choice."

"Don't worry about it." Abbie shook her head holding on to him for dear life. "It's either you carrying me, or me walking and losing a lot more blood." The makeshift bandage was getting heavy, sodden with her blood. If she didn't know any better, she would swear the axe nicked a vein in her shoulder.

Guilt twisted Ichabod's gut. This rendezvous had been a mistake, a dangerous one at that. He made sure to lengthen his stride, to get her to the jeep in a timely fashion. Finally he saw the SUV in the semi lighted lot. Quickly going to the passenger side, he set Abbie on her feet he opened the door for her, and helped her inside. He tried no to look at his shirt as it was starting to soak through with blood. _Abbie's blood._Pushing that thought from his mind, he moved to the driver's side, slid in behind the wheel and slid the key into the ignition that he had lifted from her jacket. Even if he hadn't carried her, he was still going to drive. Ichabod turned thy, kicking the engine over, and put the jeep into gear.

Abbie knew the sort of driving Ichabod could do. She braced her foot against the dash while applying as much pressure with her left hand as she could. Rubber squealed on the pavement with Ichabod driving like a mad man taking turns sharply through the quiet streets of Sleepy Hollow. Normally she would be shouting at him to slow down, but the faster he drove the better chance she had. Abbie fought to stay awake. She had to stay awake and keep the shock from setting in. Just when she thought she would pass out, she saw the bright neon lights of the hospital. Rubber squealed again, the jeep lurched to a violent halt in front of the ER. One minute Ichabod was next to her, and then the next moment she knew he was hauling her out of the car going towards the light. At that moment, Abbie's eyes closed. Everything went black.

Ichabod fought against the startle he felt when the automatic doors opened. He never got used to them, but this time he had something more pressing upon his mind. Abbie. She was in need of emergency medical attention. "Help! Please! Someone!" He shouted the moment he was inside. In a flurry of motion, nurses came to him, a gurney appeared and he was directed to set Abbie down upon it, which he did immediately. Ichabod took Abbie's left hand, his intention to stay be her side, but a nurse stood in his path. "Do not ask me to leave her side." He said knowing that was indeed the nurse's intention.

"Sir, you need to let us do our job." The nurse said gently. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Ichabod's mind went instantly blank. All he saw when he looked at his hands was Abbie's blood. "I… uhh…" He couldn't form a credible lie. "It was dark, and I wasn't paying attention…."

There were other nurses, a trauma doctor tending to Lt. Mills. Rosie Blake had been a nurse in this ER for fifteen years. She knew Abbigail on sight, but the man that had brought her in, he was a new face. "Sir, can you tell me your name?"

"I am Ichabod Crane." Ichabod said keeping his eyes on his hands. "Please help her…."

"We're going to do everything we can." Rosie said reaching out to take Crane's elbow to guide him into the waiting room down the hall. "I'm going to ask that you stay here, call any family she has, and I'll get you a shirt to wear." She left him to sit on the couch staring at his hands.

Ichabod hardly noticed when the nurse left. Abbie was separated from him and he had no way of knowing if she was slipping away from this life. He made up his mind to go in search of the room. When he stood up, the nurse had magically returned holding out an oddly blue colored shirt. "Thank you." Ichabod accepted the shirt. He turned from the nurse, slipped his jacket off, and pulled on the shirt. It was an odd garment and fit in him a strange manner. "What is this garment?" Ichabod tugged on the hem baffled by what he was wearing.

"Most people call it a 'Scrub Top'. It's all we had plenty of." Rosie answered. She could see the young man in front of her was anxious to get back to Lt. Mills side. "I know you want to be with your friend, but for now, it's best that you stay here."

"I need to be at her side." Ichabod made a move towards the door, but the nurse held up her hands keeping him in the room. He wasn't going to be rude and push past her.

"You will, once we've had time to tend to her injury." Rosie said gently. "Once I know something more, I'll come and tell you."

"Thank you." Ichabod said again going back to sit in one of the green chairs. Remaining separated from Abbie was not sitting quite well with him, but if he got in the way and something happened to her, Ichabod would never forgive himself. So, that meant that he stayed where he was.

**To Be Continued:**


	4. Chapter 4

**SUMMARY:** Things in Sleepy Hollow have changed for the two witnesses. New allegiances will be formed.

**DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing of Sleepy Hollow

**PAIRING:** Ichabod/Abbie

**RATING:** T+

**A/N:** I've decided to add a few more chapter to this story! Hope y'all enjoy what's to come.

**ON THE OUTSIDE:**

Jenny had been out with Katrina, showing her around the new Sleepy Hollow, giving her time to herself away from the tension that resided between her and Crane. They were driving down Main Street when her cell phone rang. It was Crane. He was unintelligible, muttering and running his words together. The one word she was able to make out was 'Hospital'. A million terrible thoughts played out in her mind in the time it took to get to the hospital. Jenny pulled into the closest parking spot, but paused long enough to turn to Katrina. "I don't know what's going on." She said gently. "Crane wasn't exactly clear on the phone. All I was able to make out was that someone was hurt."

"Should I remain behind?" Katrina asked not too keen on the idea of facing her husband at the present time. When he looked at her, there was the sling of betrayal in his eyes. It was a look she could hardly stomach from him and Katrina couldn't handle watching her husband and Miss Mills together. '_Ichabod freed another woman from Purgatory. He's moved on from you._' Abraham's words rang in her head. She hadn't wanted to believe it, but she could feel it, now more than ever.

"No, why would you want to?" Jenny asked. She knew what had happened between the Cranes, Abbie had told her, but for the benefit of Katrina, Jenny refrained from bringing it up. "Being alone isn't a good idea, not when Death and War could be roaming around."

Katrina nodded, acquiescing to Miss Jenny. She pulled on the handle and the door opened allowing her to exit the horseless carriage. Falling in step next to Miss Jenny, Katrina came to a sudden stop when she looked up at the massive building carrying the word HOSPITAL blazing in white light. "This can't be right." She said, amazement coloring her tone.

"It is." Jenny answered standing, waiting for Katrina to start moving again. "Must be really different from your day," She mentioned. From what she had read in history books, from Crane's stories, hospitals were operated out of whatever house the army had commandeered during the war.

"Vastly different," Katrina replied turning her gaze back to Miss Jenny. "It's hard to believe this building services so many ill people." Back when she had been a civilian nurse they were set up in tents, huts, and sometimes even out in the open.

"Yeah, healthcare is a multibillion dollar industry nowadays." Jenny shrugged. "Corruption at its most sadistic," She muttered heading towards the ER entrance. Katrina was close behind her. Jenny had to hide a small smirk at the witch as she tried not to stare at everything. Was this what Abbie dealt with when Ichabod first started out in this new century? She pushed the question aside when she stepped up to the front desk. "I got a call from a friend that either he or my sister, Abbie Mills, might be in here."

"An Abigail Mills was admitted twenty minutes ago." The lady behind the desk answered. "If you want to go through that door and down the hall, the waiting room is the first door on your left."

"Thanks," Jenny said and motioned to Katrina to follow her. They went through the door and down the hall, turned the corner to the waiting room. Jenny paused on the threshold of the waiting room when she saw Crane sitting in one of the green chairs; he was hunched over looking at his hands. They were covered in blood; Abbie's blood. He was wearing a blue scrub top, his over coat draped over the arms of the chair next to him, and his hair was down. "Crane?" Jenny went to him, crouched down, trying to catch his gaze.

Ichabod hardly noticed, hardly heard Miss Jenny when she spoke to him. All he could see was Abbie's blood on his hands. Tonight had been his fault, Abbie being hurt, him being distracted, being selfish. "I did this…" He mumbled looking at Jenny.

Katrina, pulled in closer by her husband's grief, she sat down next to him and asked, "Ichabod what happened tonight?" Blood was on his face, coating his hands, and matting the tips of his hair.

"Death came upon us tonight." Ichabod answered turning his gaze to Katrina even though he didn't wish to. He couldn't stop seeing Mary dying in his arms, pointing to Katrina as the cause of her death. There was anger inside of him, some directed at Katrina, some because he had failed to see the letter for what it was; a fake. "I was distracted, not paying attention, and Abbie paid the price for my lack of vigilance." Leaning down, Ichabod put his face in his blood covered hands.

"Mr. Crane?"

Ichabod looked up at the kindly nurse as she appeared in the doorway. He stood up with Jenny, his hands clenching at his sides. "Is she…?" The words stuck in his throat. "Please…" Ichabod shook his head at a loss for words.

"She's going to be fine after some time." Rosie said gently. "We stopped the bleeding, closed the wound, and due to the blood loss we're giving her a transfusion. Lt. Mills is stable, but unconscious for the moment." She saw the flash of panic start inside of the gentleman. "It's ok, her being unconscious is a good thing. The more rest she gets the better able she'll be to heal. If you're ready I can take you to see her."

Ichabod almost started towards the door, but kept himself where he was, and then turned to Miss Jenny, "Perhaps you should go." He said gently. Perhaps it would be better that Abbie's sister be there when she woke up to spare her from seeing the heavy weight of guilt in his eyes

Jenny always felt anxious when she was in hospitals; it was hold over from being in Tarrytown. "No, it's ok you go. She'll want to see you when she wakes up." Crane was about to protest, but he inclined his head and went to the nurse to let her guide him to where Abbie was. Jenny took Crane's seat grapping his over coat, resting it in her lap. She fiddled with one of the loose buttons for a moment before turning to Katrina, "Are you ok?"

"I don't know." Katrina answered. She had been sitting next to Ichabod but had never felt further from him. In times past she knew how to connect with him, knew what he was feeling, except for now and for the last few weeks. Things between them had been strained since he returned from Purgatory with Miss Mills. "I can feel the anger simmering inside of him whenever I am near." She said staring at the wall directly across from her. Katrina felt this kinship with Jenny, had confided in her a few times before. "I look at him and there is such disappointment in his gaze."

"He's had a lot heaped on him in recent weeks." Jenny said not excusing Crane's behavior. "I can't begin to know how you're feeling, but I do understand how hard it is being together again after so many years apart. Abbie and I still have moments where all we do is fight." Jenny heaved a sigh.

"If Ichabod and I fought then I would know he still feels something for me, even if it be contempt or resentment for the choices I made on his behalf." Katrina blurted out. "As it stands, he chills me with his coldness whenever we are in the same room." She brought her hands up and covered her mouth. Never before had she voiced such fears in regards to her marriage. What if Abraham was right and Ichabod had moved on from her?

Jenny did what she said she wouldn't, "Is this stemming from what happened with Mary?" She asked and Katrina nodded. There was nothing she could offer except for a generic string of words that people used so often they lost most of their meaning. "Crane's probably still trying to make sense of everything he learned. He needs time to process."

"All I can hope is that he sees I had no true part in her death." Katrina said. "He's never been angry like this before, and certainly not at me for any length of time."

Through the maze of the ER, Ichabod was led to Abbie's side. Ichabod felt a stab of guilt at the sight of her so still on the gurney, tubes in her arms, and her torso covered in white bandages. He hesitated on the threshold to the room, contemplated for the moment the irrational need to run. Taking that first step into the room, Ichabod felt some of the anxiety flee his body. It was easier to take the next step and the next until he was standing over her. Was this how he looked when he'd been infected by Pestilence? Tentatively Ichabod took her hand as he sat gingerly upon the edge next to her side so he could hold her hand between his. This was all because of him, because he was being careless. "Oh, Abbie, I hope you can forgive me." He whispered bringing the back of her left hand up to place a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

Abbie felt herself being pulled out of the dark, back towards the waking world. It was as if a switch had been flipped. A warm weight was next to her, hands held one of hers. It had to be Ichabod. Only his touch would bring her out of the constant replay of the night's events, even Death riding out of the mist, his axe swinging out and slicing her open. Only here in the vivid dream realm, everything was more dramatic. Then she heard her name being called out. It helped her to open her eyes to the harsh lights hanging above her. "Crane?" Abbie mumbled blinking rapidly. Hands tightened on hers bringing her attention to her right side. There she saw Ichabod. "What are you wearing?" Abbie slurred realizing that she had to be on pain medication to. She felt like she was floating.

Ichabod watched as she started to surface from unconsciousness. Seeing her eyelids flutter open made his heart skip a beat. She truly was going to be alright. Then she looked at him and asked what he was wearing. A relieved laugh escaped him as he answered, "My shirt was completely soaked through with blood. I assume they disposed of it." Ichabod rubbed his hands back and forth over hers trying to warm up her fingers. "But the loss of my shirt is a small price to pay for the knowledge that you are still of this world."

Abbie smiled and laughed, "Good… that ratty old shirt is on its last legs." As the seconds ticked by she felt herself getting stronger and stronger. With great effort she turned her head to the side to see an IV bag of blood; they were transfusing her. Abbie had more strength to talk. "Did they mention when I could get out of here?"

"They did not." Ichabod answered dropping his hands back to his lap while he still held Abbie's still clasped between them. "Even if they had, I doubt I would have heard them. All I could see was you unconscious, tubes running into you. This is the thing of nightmares." He rambled. "Will you be able to forgive me?" Ichabod asked. "Because of me, you were mortally wounded and nearly fell this night. I…"

"Shh…" Abbie said, "You weren't to blame. I was just as distracted as you." She turned her hand over, lacing their fingers together. "This happened because…"

"I was selfish and careless..." Ichabod interrupted.

"No, we just got lost in each other." Abbie shook her head tiredly. The shared dreams, the threat of death; it was enough to have them want something new, and get lost in the sensations.

Ichabod stood up, keeping his hand joined to hers; he leaned over her and placed a kiss to her forehead. "I'll never let anything harm you again." He promised, though it was foolish to promise such a thing, because despite his best intentions Abbie paid the price for his mistakes. Purgatory being the biggest of all until this moment.

"At least we match now…" Abbie chuckled lightly under the influence of the pain meds they much had injected into her IV. Taking her hand from his for a moment, she placed it palm down over his chest right over the scar from the Horseman's axe. Then she felt him fight the laughter, felt his shoulders shake, and then his deep rich masculine chuckle filled her ears. Ichabod sat back down next to her reclaiming her hand in both of his. Suddenly she was afraid to go back to sleep. "Keep me talking…" Abbie licked her lips. "I don't want to go back to sleep."

"Then what shall we converse about?" Ichabod asked trying to hide the guilt that still plagued him. His deep desire to have Abbie all to himself led them to this moment, led to her nearly being killed by Abraham tonight. For months he only held Abbie's attention, he alone shared in her smiles, her laughter, and been there when the danger had been far too perilous for one of them alone. Now more people had joined the fight against Moloch; Jenny, Katrina, and now a Nick Hawley. Ichabod found he had to share Abbie's attention more and more. It was beginning to irritate him. He wanted to keep her all to himself as irrational as he knew it to be.

"What happened after you pulled me to the ground?" Abbie asked. She couldn't remember how Ichabod had dealt the Pale Rider. She needed anything to keep her awake and alert. Sleeping wasn't an option, not unless Ichabod fell asleep too.

"Do you really need a reminder of what happened the first time I took you to the ground?" Ichabod teased arching an eyebrow. That earned him a smile and allowed him to impart the information Abbie wanted to hear. "After I pulled you away from the Horseman, I used a potion Katrina had concocted to temporarily transport Death far from us. I know not of where it sent him."

"Oh…" Abbie sighed. "So, he could be back tomorrow or next week." She mused pursing her lips looking at Ichabod. "We'll deal with that when it comes up. Right now, I would like to get out of here."

"I would free you, but not without the assurances of the Doctor that you are fit to travel." Ichabod replied. "I couldn't stand this life if you were no longer a part of it."

"You'd survive without me…" Abbie automatically said and then bit her bottom lip.

"Survive is all I would do. If I lost our bond, this connection we have, I would be adrift." Ichabod answered truthfully. "And I can't lose you for many more reason's yet to be named." He added with the slight trace of laughter in his tone.

"Can't you just get me out of here?" Abbie playfully begged.

"Absolutely not," Ichabod, equally playful, made a serious face and furrowed his brow. "You're staying where you are for now."

"That's not fair." Abbie continued in the same playful manner. It was enough to keep the gravity of what happened to her at bay.

"Abbie," Ichabod shook his head. "Tonight I put you in mortal danger and I can never take that back." He sighed heavily lamenting the fact he'd turned the tone of their playful banter to such a serious subject of his guilt. "I fear that if we continue on, that…" Could he face more times where he could potentially risk losing her? It was possible. Their life wasn't exactly safe.

"It's not the first time, and it won't be the last." Abbie said. "I survived Purgatory until you came back for me. As long as I'm with you I'm know I'm going to be fine." She made sure he was looking in her eyes as she spoke so he could see how serious she was. Purgatory made her believe that Crane was her weakness, that if she continued to trust him then it would cost her greatly in the end, it may even cost her life. The more she thought about it, the more she came to realize that Ichabod also gave her strength to keep fighting the good fight. "Besides, who else is going to put up with all your stories about the founding fathers?" Abbie teased taking their conversation back to a teasing tone.

Out in the hall Katrina pressed her back flat upon the wall listening to Ichabod and Miss Mills as they talked. When the Doctor had come to speak to Miss Jenny, she had slipped from the room to go in search of Ichabod. Room after room she passed lay empty until the sound of her husband's voice guided her down another hall. The curtain was drawn offering a small amount of privacy from sight, but their voices carried. They were teasing each other, laughing lightly, comfortably despite what had nearly happened to Miss Mills. She had never been like that with Ichabod. They had shared a comfortable relationship, easy smiles, gentle kisses, and a passion for freedom. But had they ever just teased the other? Katrina couldn't recall. She had two choices. One: she could leave; pretend she wasn't spying on them or two: she could go in there and make her presence known. Neither choice sounded particularly appealing at the moment.

Abbie was smiling at Ichabod when a shadow across the curtain caught her attention. A sudden moment of fear sliced through her making her tense up. "Is someone there?" She called out making Ichabod turn. He let go of her hand, going to the curtain he slowly pulled it back to reveal Katrina. "Hey," Abbie said for lack of saying anything else.

"Miss Mills," Katrina inclined her head politely trying not to look as if she had been eavesdropping. "I came to see how your injury is fairing." She stepped into the room and moved to the left side of the bed standing apart from Ichabod.

"I can't move my right arm from the way they have it bandaged, but at least I still have an arm." Abbie joked trying to cut through the tension. "Crane tells me you cooked up that potion that sent the Horseman away. How far away did it send him?" She asked changing the subject away from her injury as she tried to ignore the awkward tension in the room; most of it coming from Ichabod and Katrina.

"It should have sent the Horseman far enough away that he could not possibly reach Sleepy Hollow before dawn. He would have to seek refuge for the day." Katrina answered grateful for the distracting question. "It has been some time since I last concocted a potion of that magnitude. I am relieved to know that it did work."

"Yeah…" Abbie clenched her fist as a small ripple of pain ran through the right side of her chest. She sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.

"Miss Mills?" Katrina asked, the nurse in her leaping to the foreground in her mind. "Are you in pain?" Despite how she was feeling at the current moment, she was still a practitioner of the healing arts. If she could help it she would alleviate suffering.

"A little…" Abbie closed her eyes, leaned her head back and waited for it to pass. What she wanted more than anything was to be out of this room, to be back in her house. She was like Jenny, Hospital's weren't her thing.

"I wish there was something I could do." Katrina said. "My powers have yet to return to full strength." She turned her gaze towards Ichabod, seeing concern to the Lieutenant coloring his blue eyes. He hardly spared a glance for her.

Ichabod focused his attention on Abbie for he didn't know what to say to Katrina. He knew his actions were cowardly, unbecoming of a husband; he just couldn't force himself to talk to Katrina in light of all that had been revealed about the past. The side of him still clinging to the life his lived before fought to believe in her, to trust that he motives were pure even as they were colored with deception. Then there was the side of him that had acclimated to this new era, had grown used to the outpouring of truth from Abbie, whether it would hurt him or not. That was the part of him that tried to be selfish in this new century. It was wrong, he knew that, yet he still allowed the bond between him and Abbie to grow stronger day by day leaving little room for others.

"Ok folks," Rosie said coming in. "The Lieutenant needs her rest. You two should go back to the waiting room for now." Protests were about to start leaving her no choice but to give them a stern look that she had cultivated over years of working the ER. "I'll let you come back in a little while. We have to take Mills for a few tests."

"Oh yay, tests, what fun…" Abbie remarked sarcastically out of habit. Ichabod gave her a scolding look. She only shrugged as best she could to hide the fact that she didn't want Ichabod to leave her side.

Ichabod fisted his hands at his side in an attempt to keep from touching Abbie as he said, "We'll return when allowed." This time looking at Katrina he motioned for her to proceed him out of the room. Together they walked back to the waiting room to find it vacant. He had hoped that Miss Jenny would be there as he wasn't ready to hold a conversation with Katrina. There were still too many emotions swirling through him.

"Looks as though we will have to have a conversation, dear Ichabod," Katrina said taking a seat. She hoped that he would sit down and start to work this this strife between them. "Ichabod please, I cannot stand when we are at odds with the other."

"Then perhaps you should not have lied to me." Ichabod snapped in response. He lowered his head and sat down in a chair two seats away from her. Abbie's blood hadn't come completely off of his hands.

"Ichabod…" Katrina started to say. Her heart was being cut out.

"Don't." Ichabod held up his hand to keep her from speaking further until he was done. "I have overlooked a lot when truths have been revealed from your lies. Those times I gave you the benefit of the doubt because I love you so much that I thought my heart would burst from it. But this time is different. This time you lied about someone I held close to my heart from the time I was a child." Standing up to pace he continued. "Mary was family, despite her flaws; she was someone I cared for as a brother would a sister. Propriety dictated that you answer her summons, but…" He came to stand before her to say what he'd truly wanted to say from the moment Mary took her last breath, "I don't believe things happened the way you said they did, not entirely."

Katrina stood as well, faced him, "I am sorry for what happened to Miss Wells, but everything I have done has been for you, for your roll in this war."

"I have heard those words repeated from your lips so many times that they have nearly lost all meaning." Ichabod replied. "I'm trying to keep my faith in you, I really am."

**To Be Continued:**


	5. Chapter 5

**SUMMARY:** Things in Sleepy Hollow have changed for the two witnesses. New allegiances will be formed.

**DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing of Sleepy Hollow

**PAIRING:** Ichabod/Abbie

**RATING:** T+

**A/N:** I've decided to add a few more chapter to this story! Hope y'all enjoy what's to come.

**ON THE OUTSIDE:**

Jenny had started to go back to the waiting room when she heard raised voices belonging to the Cranes. It would be better if she wasn't there. So, she went in search of her sister despite her reservations about being in the hospital. Turning a corner she came to the one occupied room in the quiet ER. Abbie was lying there, her eyes closed, a bright white bandage over her shoulder, and across her torso to keep her right arm immobile. "Hey…" Jenny knocked on the metal frame of the sliding glass door.

Abbie opened her eyes to see her sister. "Hey." She lifted her head seeing that Jenny was holding Cranes coat. "Did the Doctor say I could get out of here now?" she asked finally able to push herself up with her left hand. The IV line had been removed and she was feeling stronger from the transfusion, but a little queasy from the antibiotics they'd pumped into her to head off any potential infection she could have had in the wound from the Horseman's axe.

"They haven't said anything yet," Jenny answered, "But if you want to leave, I'm more than happy to take you home." She came over to sit on the edge of the gurney on Abbie's left side. "Though, what could it hurt to wait and get the Doctors consent?" Concern poured into her words.

Abbie rolled her eyes. "Crane said the same thing." She looked at her sister. There was a question she was trying really hard not to ask, and yet at the same time she wanted to know. Until she knew how to phrase her question, Abbie remained silent.

"I heard them arguing." Jenny said sensing Abbie's train of thought.

"What?" Abbie said in surprise hiding a smile that Jenny had brought it up.

"Crane and Katrina. They were arguing in the waiting room." Jenny repeated.

"Oh," Abbie nodded trying not to be too interested while at the same time not knowing what to say to that. She wasn't sure if she was part of their argument. A part of her felt guilty that things were coming to a head between them, and then the part that relied on Crane, on the strength he gave her rejoiced that they were having issues.

"From what I heard they were arguing about what happened to the Weeping Lady; Mary Wells." Jenny lightly fiddled with the IV tube. "It sounded pretty intense…" She added.

"Well," Abbie tried to sit up, "That's an argument they've needed to have for days." She covered her relief with a small whimper of pain as she shifted causing some of her stitches to tug.

"No doubt, but you probably had the split second thought that they were arguing about why you and Crane were really alone." Jenny teased knowingly. She knew her sister better than Crane could ever hope to. "So why were you two out alone tonight? There's been nothing weird happening, which is a nice change of pace for this hellmouth."

Abbie rolled her eyes. There was no use in lying to Jenny. "We were in the park tonight being alone, breathing the calm air, and…." She shifted again, this time careful of how she moved. "We were… uhhh…." How could she admit this to her sister?

"What?" Jenny wheedled. "Come on, Abbie, you can tell me." She placed her hand over Abbie's abdomen where her right arm was secured. "It's not something outrageous like, you and Crane were making out or something right?" when Abbie didn't immediately call her insane for her wild accusation Jenny felt her mouth fall open. "You and Crane?"

"It just sort of happened." Abbie replied weakly. "I don't know. There's just this thing with us and every time I'm near him I feel like nothing can go wrong. He's just so…" She tried to put her emotions into words and she was failing miserably. "I can't explain. We just have this mesh, you know. Before we entered Purgatory, Ichabod took my hand, and in that moment I knew that we'd win, that no matter the odds stacked against us, as long as it was us we could win."

"Are you falling for him?" Jenny asked quietly remembering what Abbie had said to her when she was explaining how much she cared for Ichabod being in her life. Corbin had been taken from her, and then there was Crane to keep the hole in her heart from swallowing her completely.

"Maybe…" Abbie replied, her eyes filling with tears. "It's crazy and dangerous and reckless, but when I'm with him it's as if all the stuff that we went through was worthwhile" A sigh escaped her. Settling back into the lumpy ER pillow on the gurney Abbie moved her head back and forth, "I don't what I'm saying anymore."

"Oh, Abbie…." Jenny stretched out as best she could next to her sister; resting her head on Abbie's uninjured shoulder. "I'm sorry." She wished there was something she could say, but as she had mentioned she was a mental patient with a gun. What Abbie was feeling wasn't something Jenny understood and she was a little envious of the bond between the two Witnesses.

In the waiting room, Ichabod dropped down into the closest chair. A heavy sigh escaped him leaving him tired and fed up with the current situation. Looking up, he set his eyes to Katrina. "How am I to forgive this, Katrina? How am I to overlook the lies, and all the lies yet to be revealed?" Ichabod leaned back, his head touching the wall. "For all I know, you've been manipulating me from the moment we met."

"Ichabod I would never…" Katrina started to protest and then let her words die off. "I knew you were a Witness the moment you told me about your commanding officer but at the time, I knew you weren't ready to know the truth…."

"You didn't trust me," Ichabod snapped. "Just as you didn't trust me to handle Mary in my own way, to believe that I would remain in the colonies. You striped me of my choice, my free will." Rising to his feet Ichabod looked to his wife, "I've been trying to explain away everything that I have learned about our past together. You not telling me that you were a witch, I truly understand. Being aligned with supernatural forces would have cost you your life. Not telling me was instinct." Another sigh escaped him. "How am I to keep faith in you, when you've demonstrated that you have no faith in me?"

"I do have faith in you." Katrina defended as best she could. "Our love has been the one constant in my life even when I was banished to Purgatory. I never stopped having faith that you would come for me." Stepping in close to him, she set her hands palm down against his chest. "I need you to keep believing in me, in the promise of our life to come once this war had ended." Katrina tried not to notice the way Ichabod flinched at her touch. "Unless you've already moved on from me…" Tears leapt to her eyes as the words tumbled from between her lips.

Ichabod opened his mouth to respond, to deny her words, yet no protests came from him. "I've not moved on," He said gently, "I just don't carry the same affection towards you I once did." Because Katrina had hidden truths from him, he couldn't stop being as honest with her as he could. "Lately, as you've noticed I have been spending time with Miss Mills. Our time in Purgatory linked us together in a way I cannot understand, nor do I wish to break." Moving from her, Ichabod went to the doorway and leaned against the metal frame. "When we were in our time, living our lives, I thought of nothing but you, nothing but defeating the Red Coats, and seeing the beginnings of our nation. Now, as hard as I've tried to hold on to the past, this is not our world."

"Ichabod, it's true this world has changed, but we haven't," Katrina said not letting too much distance come between them. "To us, our lives were only yesterday, and I was burying you in that cave to protect you from my coven, to ensure that your role as Witness came to fruition." Again she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"That's part of the problem." Ichabod shook off her hand and turned to her. "Yesterday I was in love with a civilian nurse who was kind and compassionate, who advocated freedom from oppression. Today, my wife is a witch who's lied to me for years, who's twisted events under the banner of my role as Witness and preparing me for this war with evil." Turning to face her, he said to Katrina, "I'm trying to hold fast to our yesterday while inadvertently sacrificing a tomorrow I need to face."

Katrina felt the bottom drop out. "Abraham was right, you have moved on. You've…" She shook her head backing away. "Do I mean so little to you now? How can you destroy all that we have?"

"You set this in motion," Ichabod fisted his hands at his side. "I have called into question every word, every gesture, and every moment we've ever shared." He said. "If our life together was meant to be, I shouldn't be questioning anything about us. I should take you at your word no matter what." Then, he did the one thing he never thought he would do; Ichabod walked away from Katrina. If they continued on, then one or both of them would say things they would both later regret. He already had enough guilt on his shoulders as it was. Ichabod didn't even rise to respond to Katrina's mention of Abraham.

Abbie didn't know how much time had slipped by when she saw Ichabod watching her and Jenny from the doorway. Despite the small smile on his face, she knew something was wrong. It was in his eyes. The fight with Katrina must have ended and rather than call attention to him, she just continued to hold his gaze. Angling her head, Abbie rested her cheek atop her sister's head wishing that the nurse or the Doctor would come and tell her she was either being admitted or being released. She could see that Ichabod needed to talk.

Ichabod hadn't meant to come to Abbie. His true intention had been to walk outside and breathe the fresh air, to try and settle his raging emotions where Katrina was concerned. He had said things to her that he never had dreamed would be uttered from his mouth, and he had said them with such pain and anger in his tone. All his memories of being married to Katrina had been happy, had carried him through some dark days during the war, and even before her friendship had put a smile on his face. Looking back now, that happiness, that contentment, was colored by suspicion.

Jenny sensed the shift in Abbie and sat up slowly. She turned her attention to the door and shook her head when she saw Crane standing there half revealed by the curtain. The look they shared was very telling. The rest of the world was falling away. Jenny stood up and said calling attention to herself, "I'll go and talk to the Doctor to see when you can get out of here."

Abbie had nearly forgotten Jenny was with her once she started staring at Ichabod. "Yeah, that would be great. I want to sleep in my own bed tonight." She laughed lightly. Jenny left them alone and where she thought it would be weird, almost awkward, Abbie was delighted when it didn't turn out like that. Ichabod came into the room, immediately sitting down next to her where her sister had been. "Are you ok?" Abbie asked bringing her left hand up to cup his face.

Ichabod sighed resting leaning his face into her hand. "No, I'm really not." He answered truthfully. Mirroring her, he reached out and cupped the right side of Abbie's face. "I said some very angry things to Katrina a few minutes ago." Gently his thumb rubbed back and forth as he spoke. "I never meant to say all the thoughts swirling in my mind, all the confusion I feel when I see her, and the betrayal." Ichabod scoffed.

"Things like that, it's never good to leave words unspoken. They can fester in your mind until you've no choice but to blow up." Abbie said rubbing her thumb over his cheek as well. "Keeping quiet would have done more harm to you."

"Tell me what you really think, your honest opinion." Ichabod said wanting to know what she thought. He hoped she could offer him some of her unique 21st century wisdom. He'd come to trust it, and needed it now. There was so much confusion running through him that he needed a direction to go and he trusted Abbie to guide him.

Abbie dropped her hand, "You don't want me to do that." She said slipping her left hand under her back to help push her up. Being tired of her lying down, Abbie tried to push herself up, but failed. Ichabod moved his hand from her face, stood up, and set his hands to her waist. Without needing to speak, Abbie brought her left arm up and over his shoulder. She let him help her up and when pain sliced through her right shoulder from the change in position, she dug her fingers into the shirt Ichabod was wearing, burying her face against the side of his neck.

"It's ok," Ichabod repeated over and over. "Hold tight to me as long as you need." A few seconds later, Abbie loosened her hold on him. "Alright?" She nodded taking her arm from his shoulder. Ichabod felt a shiver race through Abbie. Ichabod pulled back trusting that she would stay sitting up for as long as it took him to find a blanket. Instead his eyes set on the over coat he'd worn, the coat that had meant the difference between life and death in the dead of winter. Picking it up, he turned back to Abbie and draped it over her shoulders. "Here, this will warm you up."

"This ratty old thing?" Abbie teased playfully slipping her left arm in the long sleeve. The warm wool cuff fell over her hand. Normally that would have bothered her, but not tonight. Her fingers were still cold. This could be the last remnants of shock easing out of her body from the trauma she suffered.

"Yes," Ichabod said, "This ratty old thing has seen through a few harsh winters." He sat down again with another sigh escaping him. "I'm sure you will be free to leave soon, free to fall asleep in your own bed." Right now he didn't want to talk about Katrina, even though he'd started to. All that had to matter to him was Abbie, was her safety, and her healing. "When you can leave, would you allow me to transport you home?"

"Of course." Abbie answered quickly, smiling when Ichabod gently secured the jacket around her by buttoning two of the buttons to keep the warmth locked in. "Do you still want me to give you my honest opinion?" Abbie asked against her better judgment.

Ichabod took Abbie's left hand, taking his place beside her once more. "No matter what heartache you think it will cause me, yes, I would like your honest opinion." He could see the war being waged inside of her. She wanted to spare him, and at the same time she wanted to spill every word to keep with the honesty she had always given him. "I'm an adult; I can handle whatever it is you want to tell me." Ichabod assured.

"I think…" Abbie licked her lips, "Katrina brings out the wrong side of you. She blinds you to what's going on when the danger rises. You don't care what happens when Katrina is involved." Abbie stopped talking as her words flooded out in a rush. She hadn't meant to say it like that, to be harsh, but she had to tell Ichabod the truth. At least she owed him that much. He came back to Purgatory for her.

Ichabod wanted to deny what Abbie was saying, wanted to argue like he knew he should, but his tongue would not form the words of protest. There was the marginal amount of anger, of denial running through him at her words. Then there was this small part of him, the modern part that agreed with her. He asked, "How can you say this?" Ichabod made no move to pull his hand away, nor did he leave the bed.

In a nervous twitch Abbie ran her thumb back and forth across Ichabod's knuckles. "I started to see it when we went to free her from the Headless Horseman. You didn't care that if you went in there you could get yourself killed, that you could get me killed." She said quickly averting her gaze from his. She couldn't say what she wanted to say while she was looking at him. "When she's the one in danger; death has no meaning for you, nor does my life. That night, if we didn't have the Kindred, you and I wouldn't be having this conversation. She blinds you to everything but what's happening to her and her alone; like you're bewitched or something." This time she took her hand from him and placed it over his heart. "You asked for my honesty, and I'm giving it to you not just because we share dreams, or because you saved me, or even because of our bond. I value you…"

Ichabod took Abbie's hand again because not having it left a coldness to form inside of him, "I am…" He had no words, nothing at all in which to explain his motivations. Looking back on his time with Katrina, almost from the moment they had met, she had been all that he could see. "How will I make this up to you?" Ichabod asked in a pained whisper. He failed to deny Abbie's words in regard to how he comported himself around Katrina. When she was around he was compelled to see only her and no one else.

Abbie lowered her head. "It's not me you need to make this up to. You have to decide where you go from here." She replied in the same hushed tone. It was all well and good for her to give him her opinion, but she couldn't make life altering choices for him. Living in the 21st century didn't mean she knew more about life than he did. "Whatever your choice, know I will still stick with you."

Not wanting to continue on with their current line of conversation, Ichabod changed the subject by saying, "I will watch over you tonight regardless." He couldn't in good conscience leave her alone, not when her injury had been her fault. Abbie didn't reply to him. She only nodded settling into his jacket keeping as much warmth as she could around her.

**ABBIE'S HOUSE:**

The ride from the hospital in Abbie's jeep had been silent, laced with awkwardness because of what she'd said to Ichabod in the ER room. Ichabod pulled into the drive, parked, and turned the key so the engine shut off. A dozen times Abbie wanted to take back all that she had said, but she couldn't, knew better than to truly attempt it. He needed to hear it, and she needed to say it. At the end of the day, Ichabod's marriage was a liability. Abbie couldn't trust Katrina, couldn't afford it, but if Ichabod chose Katrina after all, then she would deal with it. That's what was really bothering her. Abbie feared Ichabod would choose Katrina after everything that had happened.

Ichabod removed himself from the driver's seat so he could come around the vehicle and help Abbie. With her arm lashed to her abdomen to prevent her from ripping her stitches for 24 hours, her balance was a bit off. Opening the door for her, he offered his hand to her. Abbie didn't hesitate placing her hand in his. Like the gentleman he was bred to be, he helped her from the car and brought her in against his side. It felt good to have her at his side again, she balanced him. When he was with her, he had the presence of mind to see things from multiple points of views. He needed that right now and while he guarded Abbie as she slumbered he would have plenty of time to think back on his life.


	6. Chapter 6

**SUMMARY:** Things in Sleepy Hollow have changed for the two witnesses. New allegiances will be formed.

**DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing of Sleepy Hollow

**PAIRING:** Ichabod/Abbie

**RATING:** T+

**ON THE OUTSIDE:**

Ichabod sat in the dark of Abbie's bedroom watching her upon the bed trying to remain deep in sleep. She kept tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable despite the pain that had to be radiating throughout her body. He tried to remain in his seat for a few more minutes, and then a few more. There were so many things he had to think on, one of them being his bond with Abbie; the intensity of it. But the more she turned, the more he heard her minute whimpers of pain, he left his seat and went to her. Ichabod toed off his boots, setting them by the end of the bed before he slipped on the bed, sitting on top of the covers. Angling his body, he gently slid his right arm to cradle the back of her head while his left wrapped around her waist. He pulled her up against him so that she was resting back against his chest. Almost immediately she calmed, returning to a deeper sleep than she had been in a few moments ago.

Ichabod held Abbie letting his mind wander down many roads that his life could take. On one hand he could stay with Katrina, be the dutiful husband, the honorable man, and spend his life being torn in two by the lies she'd once told, and by the lies she would have yet to tell. Was his love for her that strong that he could over look all of that? Back then, during the war, he would have said yes without hesitation or reservation. Now, that was another story. In this new century, he met Abigail Mills, a police Lieutenant, a strong woman with a scarred past, and the Second Witness of the coming apocalypse. Ichabod saw in her all that he thought he'd seen in Katrina. No matter the pain she knew it could inflict, Abbie told him the whole unvarnished truth. She made sure he knew what he was up against, allowing him to make his own choices on how to proceed. Being with Abbie never left him with doubt. Like thunder striking, he knew who he should seek out for help; Seamus Duncan, the Mohawk Shaman who owned a used car lot.

A few hours later brought Abbie out of sleep. She opened her eyes trying to beat back the shadowy webs that the pain meds left. When she realized that she was alone, that was enough of a jolt to break free of her drug induced sleep. "Crane?" Abbie called out hoping that he'd only left the room while still being in the house. It was then she noticed a letter resting on the vanity written in Ichabod's own hand. Getting out of bed she covered the distance between the bed and the vanity where she picked up the simple letter. Abbie flipped the folded piece of paper over and began to read:

_Abigail,_

_While the night was upon us I took time to ponder this path we find ourselves on and I realize that it is not conducive to the roles we have been assigned. Too much tension abounds. While you yet slumbered I allowed my mind to wander down many roads that led absolutely nowhere. I am no closer to a decision than I was sitting with you in the hospital room, but I know where they can be found. My deepest apologies for not being there when you woke, there was nothing I wanted more than to let you know in person what I was about to undertake. Yet, urgency guided my actions, forcing me from your side. __Know that I am safe and know that I will return as soon as I can._

_Yours,_

_Ichabod_

Abbie read the note twice thinking that she missed the sentence where Ichabod explained what it was that he was doing or where he was going, but she didn't find it. He got points for leaving the note. If he said he needed to do this alone, then Abbie would let him. She didn't want to be a distraction for him, or be the reason he made the choices he made. That didn't mean she wasn't going to worry about his safety, worry that at any moment he could get into trouble and she would be there to help him. Though, he had a cell and if it was truly an emergency, Abbie had to trust he would call her. She went back and sat on the bed, the note clutched in her hand, and this heavy weight settling on her.

**GERONIMOTORS:**

Ichabod stood next to the horse he'd borrowed looking at the used car lot he and Abbie had visited earlier in the year. Even though he knew how to drive, being behind the wheel was still foreign to him. Being astride a horse, for him, was much preferable, and it afforded him more time to think. Ichabod held tight to the reigns, guiding the horse along, as he walked towards where he could see the owner inspecting one of the cars he had for sale. "Mr. Duncan?" Ichabod called out hoping this time he would get a friendlier reception than last time.

"That's me!" Seamus replied not looking at who called his name. When the stranger said nothing, he pulled his head out from under the hood and saw the British guy he'd helped months back. "Oh great," he muttered. "What now? Another dream demon?"

"No, nothing as horrific as that," Ichabod answered quickly. "I was hoping to avail you of your services as a Mohawk Shaman. There are questions I need answers to that I cannot find in this world."

"You're talking a vision quest." Needless to say, Seamus' interests were piqued. "That would take a toll on your body because I have a feeling you're not talking any old vision quest that would interest the tourists."

"And you would be correct." Ichabod inclined his head. "I'm talking being put into a dream like trance so real that if I get hurt, my body will bleed. The answers I seek are worth the torment I would likely endure."

"Alright, but if that cop of yours comes to arrest me, it's all on you." Seamus advised.

"I understand." Ichabod answered covering up his slight trace of confusion at some of his words.

"Then follow me," Seamus said, "But leave the horse." He added with a sly smirk.

**LATER THAT EVENING:**

Abbie stood in the first floor bathroom cutting away the gauze as best she could with her left hand. Rosie had given her care instructions for when the pressure bandage could come off. She flinched every so often when the bandage would catch against the stitches. When that happened, Abbie would take a break, and out of frustration she kicked the wall. Then she would start back at it, slower than before. Jenny had offered to help, but Abbie refused. She wanted to do it as she didn't want to talk just yet about what she'd told her sister about last night, about just how she got hurt. And she definitely didn't want to talk about where Ichabod went. Just the thought of her partner had her actions halting. Abbie knew better than to be on her own, Ichabod as well. Then why wasn't she tracking him down so she could, even in her injured state, watch his back? Because he'd asked her to trust him, to let him find the answers he needed. Abbie shook her head and then jumped at the sight of Katrina's reflection. "Katrina?"

Katrina had been watching Abigail Mills for a few minutes. The younger woman's eyes were closed; she had a gentle smile upon her lips. She was thinking about someone. Katrina couldn't help but wonder if it was Ichabod who put that smile there. "Apologies, I did not mean to startle you." She took a step back to give the Second Witness more room. "I only came to render aide to you, and to bring you this," Katrina pulled free two jars, on held a salve made from yarrow and the other was willow bark. Abbie nodded slowly allowing Katrina to come closer. She set both jars aside and set to the task of removing the bloody gauze as carefully as she could. "While I was a nurse I saw many wounds like this. Though, without the aid of modern medicine, most of the soldiers had to undergo amputations or they died from blood loss." Katrina said for the sake of having something to say.

"Yeah, medicine has come a long way." Abbie responded picking up one of the jars with her left hand. "What's this?" It was a powder, looked to be ground up by hand.

Katrina spared a glance to see which one Miss Mills had grabbed, "That's willow bark, you brew it in a tea and it reduces fever as well as easing pain." She informed turning her attention back to the bandage. Carefully she freed it from the black stitches without, she hoped, causing Miss Mills too much discomfort. "The second jar is a yarrow salve I made. It's meant to reduce redness and speed healing of wounds."

"Thank you." Abbie said genuinely. She knew that Katrina didn't have to come here, didn't have to help her, but she was. There was also a little bit of suspicion coursing through Abbie as to what other motives the witch could have had. Katrina wasn't as noble as Ichabod at least that was the sense Abbie got from Katrina. For the most part Abbie tried to stay out of the marital issues Ichabod and Katrina were having.

"I must confess that I have other motivations for being here." Katrina said turning from Miss Mills to retrieve the jar of yarrow.

Abbie resisted rolling her eyes while the thought, 'And there it is.' She made a concentrated effort to keep her face neutral while Katrina tended to her wound.

"I am concerned for Ichabod. He did not return home last night. I know that you and he spend much time together. Would you have any idea as to where he went?" Katrina removed the cork stopped from the jar, dipping her fingers into the salve, it warmed instantly and then she set to spreading it over the sutured wound without, she hopes, causing too much pain. Under her ministrations, Miss Mills still flinched. "Apologies." Katrina whispered.

"It's ok…" Abbie sank her teeth into her lower lip feeling more and more awkward by the seconds ticking by. She kept silent trying to find the right words to use that wouldn't turn their quiet exchange into a heated debate. "Crane needed space, and time to figure things out." Abbie said knowing that she couldn't lie no matter who she was talking to.

"Were you with him when he decided this?" Katrina asked stilling her movements.

"The last thing I remember when I stretched out, he took a seat in the chair next to my desk and then I fell asleep." Abbie answered truthfully. She remembered watching him, the solemn look on his face followed her into sleep.

**MIDDLE OF THE FOREST: **

Ichabod lay in the center of a sweat lodge. His overcoat, shirt, boots, and hosiery had been removed. He concentrated on his breathing, in and out, over and over he sucked in the humid air of the day. Next to him Seamus sat holding out a ladle of liquid that would put him in a lucid dream state. If he was to make a choice, he had to find it without being around Abbie, or around Katrina for that matter. He never thought clearly around Katrina. Looking to Seamus, he took the ladle and downed every last drop. Ichabod didn't waste time trying to figure out the concoction, he just let the potion work.

Seamus asked, "When you are fully under you will feel everything, but you won't be able to move, not for the next three days. When you come out of it, you'll be dehydrated, starving, and weak. I'll send for that cop of yours when it's time."

"Understood." Ichabod slurred as the effects from the potion started to take hold. His eyes grew heavy, almost like lead. He had no choice but to let them close. Hs breathing evened out, felt the beat of his heart slow down. Then he had the feeling of falling. _Ichabod's back slammed into the ground, the sun beating down on his face, his chest. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he looked around, the world was spinning, and then it was fuzzy, before it went back to spinning. Feeling he could, Ichabod sat up while blinking against the harsh, seemingly intensified rays of the sun. Then a few seconds later, he felt he could stand. Once up, the spinning stop and the world slid into focus. He took a look around seeing that he was in the woods near where they had discovered the Roanoke settlers. A smile came to his face. This was where Abbie first time him that she couldn't make it without him, even if she meant back to the colony. _

"_Ichabod!"_

_Crane turned at the sound of his name being screamed. It wasn't a voice he recognized and yet it was very familiar. "Is anyone there?!" He called out not sure if his attempt was futile. The voice had come from the east, turning on his bare heel he started to head towards it not sure who or what he would find. _

"_ICHABOD!"_

_There was his name again and this time the female voice was in pure agony. His name was colored inside a scream forcing him to pick up his pace. The bottom of his feet were starting to hurt. It had been a long time since he'd had run through the forest without boots. "Hold on! I'm almost there!" Ichabod yelled back. There was another scream and this time in was coming from the direction from which he'd just come from. Ichabod skidded to a halt. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" No reply echoed back to him._

"_Ichabod…"_

_Ichabod turned at the whisper of his name. Before him wasn't Katrina, or even Abbie. The memory of Mary faced him. "Mary…" Her name tumbled from his lips on impulse. "What are you doing…?" No, she was dead. Long dead. _

"_I'm here to help you, to guide you." Mary replied with a gentle smile. She reached out and cupped his face. "My gentle, sweet, Ichabod."_

"_I am so sorry," Ichabod took a step closer to her. "When I received that letter…."_

"_My sweet Ichabod," Mary chuckled. "I am at peace, a long deserved peace that I never knew in life. To you I was your little sister. I was never happy with that and it drove me to jealously and insanity."_

"_No, Mary…" Ichabod started to say, but she stopped him with her hand over his mouth. _

"_I am here to help you now." Mary stated. "You have choice before you. Going forward or remaining in the past."_

_Ichabod stepped back. "And how am to make such a choice?" Knowing he could speak freely, he continued on. "I am torn in two. A wife I love no matter the lies and a young woman who is the missing half of my soul, a woman I am coming to love. My heart doesn't know…"_

"_Torn between the worlds; the old and the new." Mary mused. "Katrina represents the old world, the old America's, the Old England, and everything that it stood for. She represents a false sense of nobility and honor that she wore as a mask to a party. She became what you wanted so she could use you."_

"_Are you saying this because she played a part in your death?" Ichabod snapped and then closed his mouth, lowering his head in apology. _

"_No, I'm not." Mary replied. "I am saying that my death was a larger part of plan that started the moment Katrina knew you were a Witness."_

_Ichabod's head shot up at Mary's words. "What?"_

"_Think about it." Mary stated. "Every moment you were together she knew who you truly were. The 1__st__ Witness." A wave of her hand brought forth a large mirror. In it Mary and Ichabod were reflected. She moved from his side, placed her hand on the glass and called forth the scene of Katrina's first encounter with Ichabod. "The moment you first met."_

_Ichabod felt his heart clench in his chest. The sight of Katrina, her flaming red hair gathered up under a bonnet, simple white dress to match. "Why show me this?"_

"_You were lost to her in that moment weren't you?" Mary asked, remorse clear upon her tone. "I am so sorry it had to be her. Look upon her hand Ichabod." She urged. _

"_Why would I…?" Ichabod started ask even as she did as she bade him. That was something he'd not noticed before. Katrina carried a small charm. "How did I not notice this?" His eyes must have seen more than his mind allowed to be acknowledged. In that moment, all he'd seen had been a red headed beauty._

"_She enchanted you from that first moment you met." Mary answered crossing her arms over her chest. "Though, don't feel bad. It was more than likely her intention to bewitch the person interrogating Arthur Bernard."_

"_No, that can't be right." Ichabod defended. "How can you say that, you were not there?" _

"_I'm saying it because you thought it in the deep dark of your subconscious when you began questioning every moment of your time with Katrina.. The same subconscious that created me to help you in this dreamscape." Mary argued. She watched as he shook his head in a futile back and forth motion. He was trying to battle back the implication of her words. "My darling Ichabod, she has manipulated every moment of your American life because she knew you to be a Witness." _

"_No." Ichabod denied. _

"_Then how is it you came to face death on that battlefield, on that day?" Mary challenged. "Think Ichabod."_

"_Washington. He charged me with the mission of finding a Hessian mercenary with a bow upon the back of his hand." Ichabod answered taking his eyes from the mirror, from yet another memory of his life with Katrina. _

"_True, it was the General who issued your orders, but he was aligned with the Sisters of the Radiant Heart, Katrina was their leader. She set you upon this course of misery and death. She moved you around like a pawn in a chess game. She decreed you meet Death." _

"_You don't know that!" Ichabod shouted._

"_But you feel it." Mary walked from the mirror, her hands gripping his shoulders urging him to look at her. "You feel that she's the reason all this has happened to you. Because of her, you lost Abraham; your oldest friend who convinced you to come to the Colonies. Because of Katrina, you lost the life you wanted to lead. You never had the chance to become a father. You were drawn into a world that you never should have called your own. Because Katrina manipulated the course of your life, you fell in battle, and spent 200 years in a cave."_

_Ichabod fell to his knees, the scar on his chest, blood trickled from the long healed scar of his fatal wound gifted to him from the Horseman of Death. "Mary… stop…." He gasped. _

"_I'm not doing this." Mark knelt before him. "You are." _

_Ichabod looked at her, seeing her appearance had changed. Instead of the frock she'd died in, Mary was now clothed in a white sleeveless top, blue jeans, and her dark hair fell freely around her and parted in such a way that her dark locks covered her right hair when it fell in her face. "What?"_

"_A little update. After all, that dress I was wearing I'd been dead in that thing for over 250 years. I needed a change." Mary shrugged reaching out. This time her hand placed flat upon his chest. Ichabod reacted to her touch, feeling a handprint sear into his skin. _

"_What are you doing?" Ichabod asked falling back from Mary's touch. _

"_This is all part of the choice you feel you must make. When the time is right, you'll know what to do." Mary answered. "Now," She stood up offering her hand to him. "Shall we continue?"_

"_I don't see as I have a choice." Ichabod remarked taking her hand and rising to his feet once more. "What other doubts are you going to cast upon my memories of Katrina?" If he could, he would end this dreamscape just to put a stop to the doubt he was feeling deep in his bones. There was a part of him that wanted to deny all that Mary had said it warred with the part of him that wanted to embrace all that she said. "Why have you not mentioned Abigail yet?"_

"_I'm getting to her." Mary chuckled taking her place once more at the mirror. She placed her palm on the glass calling forth the day Ichabod rose from the grave. "And now to the day you met Abbie." _

_Ichabod turned his attention to the mirror where he saw Abbie. She was staring at him through the bars, his look at her just as intent. She was there to say that he'd killed Sheriff Corbin, but he hadn't. Abbie had said as much. Seeing her like that, at the start of her journey with him pulled Ichabod closer. Before he knew it, he was reaching out, his fingers touching her reflection. Then something happened. The scene changed and they were back in Purgatory. Ichabod was leaving with Katrina. "Why it is showing me this?"_

"_Because you felt leaving with Katrina was a mistake." Mary answered. "Look at her. She spares not one glance for Abbie while you look at her every chance you get. Katrina uses people and then leaves them to their fate when they are of no more use." _

"_That can't be true." Ichabod watched. Mary was right, Katrina didn't look back once. "What have I allowed my life to become?" He knew Mary could not give him the answer to that. His life was what it was because he thought he'd made the choices of his own free will. If what his departed little sister said to be true, then Katrina took his freedom the moment they met. "What am I to do?"_

"_I can't answer that for you." Mary answered. "This is for you. All I can do is reply events offering a different perspective." Once more she cupped Ichabod's face, "This path is yours alone. If you want things to change, then you change them for you, not for others."_

**TO BE CONTINUED:**


	7. Chapter 7

**SUMMARY:** Things in Sleepy Hollow have changed for the two witnesses. New allegiances will be formed.

**DISCLAIMER:** I own nothing of Sleepy Hollow

**PAIRING:** Ichabod/Abbie

**RATING:** T+

**ON THE OUTSIDE:**

**TWO DAYS LATER:**

Abbie stood in the kitchen of her house, her right hand braced on the counter while her left covered the raw wound in her shoulder. Two days she'd spent looking for Ichabod. No one had seen or heard anything from him. All that came across the Sheriff's Office had been the theft of a horse. Abbie knew that had to be Ichabod, but within a day the horse was returned with no witnesses. She was battling anger, fatigue, and general annoyance at her inability to find him. Even their shared dreams were of no help. Something was blocking them, keeping them apart; keeping them from communicating. In the moments she had managed to catch a quick nap she saw scattered images of things she couldn't possibly know about.

Growling in frustration, Abbie pounded her fist on the counter. "Ichabod…" She shook her head and then composed herself when she heard the front door open. That had to be Jenny, who probably brought Katrina with her. 'Great, just what I need. A witch who can't do magic.' Again, she shook her head, it was fatigue talking, the anger, and frustration at not being able to find Ichabod. Sleepy Hollow was a small place, but at this moment, it seemed huge. There were only so many places the Revolutionary could be. After a few more seconds, Jenny came into view. "Tell me you have something." Abbie ordered schooling her features into a hopeful mask. She relaxed her hands, while keeping her left over her right shoulder.

"Sorry, no." Jenny shook her head. "The owner of the horse wasn't any help, even when Katrina worked some of her magic on him." She could see the annoyance in Abbie's eyes. "We'll find him." Then her eyes were drawn to the small speckles of blood coloring Abbie's shirt. "You need a fresh bandage and a break." Giving her stubborn sister no time to argue, Jenny gripped her left arm and practically dragged her down the hall towards the bathroom. "If you don't stop going the way you're going, your body is going to burn out." She lectured, though she was a fine one to do so. Jenny had pushed her body beyond human endurance on more than one occasion.

"I can't stop now." Abbie turned from Jenny to see her bandage had soaked through with blood. "Might have broken a stitch." She muttered pulling the bloody taped gauze from her skin. The stitches were still holding, but with all the moving around she had been doing, and the blatant refusal, she didn't wear the sling to keep her shoulder in the same position to help healing. Abbie made quick work of putting some of the salve Katrina had brought her on the wound, and then covered it with another bandage. She then tossed her shirt in the hamper before going back to her room for a clean undershirt and a new t-shirt.

Jenny followed Abbie and pulled her to a stop again. "Abbie, you need rest!" She snapped.

"I can't!" Abbie rounded on Jenny. "I'm not stopping until I find him." She replied in a calmer voice. "Jenny, I know you've been on the outside lately, and I don't know how that happened, but…"

"You need him." Jenny said. "I know, and I get it." She pulled her sister close, hugging her carefully. "He's been there to help you with some pretty brutal things."

"It's not just that…" Abbie whispered closing her eyes. For this one second she took strength from her sister, from their family. "I don't know how to do this without him." She confessed.

"You won't have to find out." Jenny promised and then pulled back seeing a stray tear slide down Abbie's cheek. She wiped it away while fighting her own. Her sister and Crane had to remain together to fight this world. As much as it pained, she, Irving, Hawley, and even Katrina were all secondary to Abbie and Ichabod. They were the Two Witnesses.

"I'm sorry if I've been pushing you away." Abbie apologized. "I just…."

"Abbie, I know. You have things that you can't share with me, but you can share them with Crane. You're not bottling anything up or denying it." Jenny smiled lightly. "Are we even sure he's in danger?" She asked.

"No, but I want to find him before trouble finds him. He's a magnet for such things; has been since the moment we met." Abbie sighed a small laugh mixing with it. Leaving her sister, she went to change tops. Just as she pulled a clean t-shirt over her head, when her cell phone rang. Abbie pulled it free from her back pocket and saw that the number was UNKNOWN. She swiped her finger across the green answer button and said, "This is Lieutenant Mills."

"_Mills, this is Seamus Duncan. We met a few months ago."_

Abbie took a moment to recall the name. "Yes, Mr. Duncan. What can I do for you?" She didn't have time for a shady Mohawk used car dealer who would have rather leave them to face the dream demon alone. It was Ichabod that had threatened him with Ro'kenhrontyes.

"_I'm calling to let you know that Ichabod Crane has been here for two days seeking answers from the great spirits." _

"What?" Abbie asked in disbelief. "And that means what exactly?"

"_He needs your help."_

"We'll be right there." Abbie didn't press for more information, she knew she wouldn't get more than he offered. She ended the call and grabbed her keys, but came to a stop when Jenny refused to move from her bedroom door.

"Are you sure this isn't a trap?" Jenny asked, she had to ask before Abbie went charging in head first.

"Very sure," Abbie nodded. "Seamus Duncan helped us when I was plagued by this dream demon; Ro'kenhrontyes. Crane was with me every step of the way and nearly lost his life in this dreamscape where we faced him. Seeing him like that, seeing him willingly put his life on the line for me gave me the courage to not be afraid of what happened to us in the woods that day."

"And this guy, he knows where Crane is?" Jenny had to keep Abbie talking for a just a few more minutes.

"Yeah. He says Crane is there with him and that he needs my help. Jenny, no offense, but get out of my way." Abbie took a step back letting her sister see just how serious she was. "Jenny, please…"

"We're all going." Jenny stated. "There's no arguing that point. Right now there is safety in numbers."

"Great," Abbie rolled her eyes. "My prepper sister and a witch who care barely use magic. Yeah, she's a whole bundle of safe." There was sarcasm dripping from every word Abbie spoke. Seeing the flash of pain in Jenny's eyes, forced an apology from her. "Oh, Jenny, I'm sorry. I didn't…"

"It's ok," Jenny said automatically, though she could not keep that searing sense of hurt from her heart. "We're all stressed. You haven't slept in two days, going on three."

"Still I shouldn't have called you that." Abbie lowered her head. Lack of sleep was no excuse to be lashing out.

"Then we had better go." Jenny said leaving Abbie's room, giving her sister a few minutes to compose herself.

**MIDDLE OF THE FOREST:**

_Ichabod dropped to the ground under the great weight of his conscience. He wanted to change, to be able to make a new life in this new era, but the dictates of his world demanded he be honorable. He was a husband to a wife who lied to him with every breath she took. He was a father to a son that he never had the chance to raise, a son that hated him. The life his honor wanted him to continue with was in shambles. It was a life built on the foundation of a lie. Then there was Abigail. She drew him out of the madness, out of the doubt swirling in his mind. Through her and her utter surety Ichabod knew he could make a change. That was the true test; could he make a change to his life._

_Mary knelt in front of Ichabod watching the metaphorical wheels turn in his head. She could see that he was arriving at some life altering decision. "You do know that you have the right to make the life you want. You have the freedom to just walk away." Her voice was gentle and soothing. "No matter how you may love Katrina, the two of you are broken beyond repair and time can't fix you. Is it truly honorable to remain with someone who sews nothing but chaos and destruction in the lives of those around them?" _

"_But she's my wife…" Ichabod argued weakly. At the moment he could barely feel affection for her._

"_Has she acted like it?" Mary countered. She reached out, taking Ichabod's hand and guiding it to a small reflecting pool of water she created. Touching his hand to the surface, memories of Katrina played out where in every instance she manipulated Ichabod into agreeing with her while casting Abbie aside. __"This is not the woman you imagined as your wife."_

_Ichabod took his hand from the water turning a pained gaze to Mary. "Why did I have to meet her?" He hadn't meant to ask it, the words just tumbled free from his lips._

"_Good or bad, she brought you to the moment where you need to be." Mary cupped Ichabod's face gently and then she dropped her hand down to place it over his heart. "The weight you feel is obligation to a wife that never existed."_

"_It felt so true from that first moment." Ichabod looked away from Mary knowing that she was only a fiction of his mind made to challenge him. _

"_It may have been at the time, but can you honestly say that being with Katrina feels right in this here and now?" Mary asked letting her hand fall from Ichabod's heart._

"_I don't know." Ichabod muttered looking off in the distance. "I thought when I had her returned to my arms that all would fall into place because the love of my life was with me again. And yet, this terrible weight lingers because she has returned to me."_

"_But she hasn't truly returned has she?" Mary asked in a knowing voice._

"_No…" Ichabod sighed. "She has spoken of returning to reside once more at the side of Death to glean what information she can and pass it along to us so we may yet mount a defense. I am resigned to letting her go; for I know she'll do it anyway."_

"_Your word holds no weight with her?" Mary was careful to phrase her observation as a question. Ichabod needed to be handled carefully lest he be struck over the head with a realization that would make him run in the opposite direction._

"_I'm beginning to doubt it ever did." Ichabod scoffed. "What does it say about me that I would willingly lie with a woman who had a hand in creating two horsemen of the apocalypse?" He shook his head, getting up off the leaf covered ground. "There was my cherished friend Abraham that I wronged by falling for his intended, then in that blindness I had the nerve to ask for his blessing. I would have stayed away if they had gone through with their marriage, but if I had done that then I wouldn't be here now with my life bound to the fate of Miss Abigail Mills. Then, there is my son who I knew nothing about. He is war incarnate, and all because Katrina tried to keep him from being a target of her coven, but at the same time with his powers, she should have known better than to leave him behind."_

"_I am sorry, truly, for all that you have suffered." Mary stood as well. "As much as I know you will loathe to hear the words fall from between my lips, but you being with Katrina, losing everything that you held dear, has been a miracle for you." Ichabod rounded on her and she held up her hands to waylay his argument. "Look at all you have seen, the country that was created from your life's blood, the role you played in the Revolution, and the life of Abigail Mills. With her you are better, and far less arrogant."_

"_Arrogant!" Ichabod shouted. "I am the least arrogant person I know." He argued._

"_Ha!" Mary responded crossing her arms over her chest. "You and Abraham were two sides of the same arrogant coin." She said._

"_That's not true." Ichabod felt his fingers twitching, but as Abbie had pointed out to him, he did have that streak inside of him. It only reared its ugly head when he was in the presence of those from his past. When he was with Abbie, all the pretention fell away. He was free at her side._

"_Oh, my poor Ichabod, it is, but that's how you had to be to survive in the world we were born to. Utter self-confidence to rule the world was the trade mark of a British aristocrat." Mary responded. "But that was never what you wanted; you wanted freedom from your father, from his name, and his fortune."_

"_And I had it, or so I believed until Abbie." Ichabod breathed out, deflated, and unwilling to argue with her any longer._

**GERONIMOTORS:**

Abbie slid out of the passenger side of her Jeep Cherokee because Jenny insisted on driving. It was the most uncomfortable time in the car she had ever had with Katrina in the back seat. In the last two days Katrina insisted on doing things her way to try and find Ichabod, which meant her trying to use magic. So far her powers had yet to return and the more she tried, the more Abbie lost patience. They had one or two arguments over it in the past 52 hours. Abbie shook her head and put on her sunglasses against the harsh glare of the midday sun. There was no use mentally rehashing all that was said.

"Who is this man?" Katrina asked stepping out of the motorized carriage behind Miss Mills. She had tried to remain silent on the drive, but the tension had nearly been more than she could handle. It still picked at her the way Miss Mills had spoken to her over these past two days while she had tried her hardest to locate Ichabod. Magic wasn't so easily used in this world, not when evil was lurking around every corner. She had tried to convey this to both of them, but Abigail refused to listen to her.

"His name is Seamus Duncan. He's a Mohawk Shaman Crane and I spoke to a few months back." Abbie answered in as much of a neutral tone as she could muster. Thankfully Seamus appeared to keep her from elaborating further. "How is he?"

"Just follow me." Seamus said looking at the Sheriff and at the two others that joined her. He led the way through the row of parked used cars and out into the field towards the tree line. Deep in the woods Seamus led the three women trying in vain to ignore the tension that emanated from all of them. Whatever was happening, between them and between Cranes, it wasn't his concern, but he hoped it was resolved quickly. Winds of change w ere coming to Sleepy Hollow, and for the Mohawk that still resided within the borders, it wasn't a change they were likely to welcome.

Abbie clenched and unclenched her left hand. So many things could have happened to Ichabod being left all alone out here. This wasn't the world he knew anymore, not when War and Death had taken up residence. Then again, she knew that he needed some time to work through all the emotions he had been forced to ignore. The further into the woods they walked the further out of time Abbie felt. It reminded her of the time they found Roanoke. Without meaning to, her left hand reached up and touched her right shoulder. "Did you at least make sure he was somewhere no one could find him?"

"Give me some credit," Seamus shrugged. "The only people who can find where he is while on his vision quest is one of my people. I made sure of it." He stopped and looked at the sheriff. "When he came to me, his spirit was in pain. It's one of the reason's I helped him."

"Part of that is probably my fault." Abbie admitted and looked away. It was then she saw white canvas of a tent, "What happened to make you call me?" She asked trying to understand what it was she was walking into.

Seamus sighed and rubbed at the back of his head. "I came out here to check on him, but found I couldn't enter. This barrier had formed in the lapsed time when I had last checked on him the night before."

Katrina joined the Mohawk Shaman and Miss Mills. "Where is Ichabod?" She asked trying her best not to sound demanding.

"He's in the tent," Abbie answered but before she could tell Katrina about the barrier, the red head rushed away from them. "Katrina, no!" she shouted seconds too later. The witch impacted the shimmering blue barrier and catapulted her back into the small clearing beyond. Everything fell to the wayside. Abbie rushed over to Katrina and immediately checked for a pulse. A sigh of relief left her when she felt the strong thump against her fingers from the side of Katrina's neck. She was only stunned.

Katrina felt tingles break out along the entire expanse of her body. "Oh…" She groaned, sitting up against the protestation of her body. "What was that?"

"That was some sort of magical barrier." Abbie answered standing up.

"Why did not inform me of this?" Katrina snapped.

"Would you have waited?" Abbie asked in reply. "Because, you know, you didn't exactly give me a chance to reply. You just charged in head first assuming if something went wrong someone other than Crane was going to save your ass."

"Ichabod is in there right now. He needs help." Katrina pointed to the tent wishing this pointless discussion would come to an end.

"Really? Gee, I had forgotten that he was in there in the last three seconds." Abbie snapped. Leaving Katrina where she was, Abbie went to the barrier. There was something odd about the blue pulsing energy that covered the canvas tent. "What could have done this?"

"It's nothing I could have done." Seamus chimed in.

"Then how are to get to through this magic?" Katirna inquired, her tone neutral and her gaze adverted from Abbie.

"With patience." Abbie muttered placing her left and to her right shoulder. The pain had yet to dull into an easily ignored ache. It was reminding her that she'd been in the hospital no more than three days ago. "Damnit…" This wasn't what she needed. Abbie turned her attention back to the tent when a small handprint appeared, pulsing, taunting her to touch it. With her left hand she placed it over the print and unlike what happened to Katrina, her hand slipped right though. Out of shock, Abbie pulled her hand back.

"What do you want to do Abbie?" Jenny asked stepping up to her sister's side. Even though she'd been relegated to the outside circle, they were still sister's and she would have her sister's back no matter what.

Katrina shook her head. "I am Ichabod's wife; I should be the one to rescue him." She stated in a tone that told the others not to argue with her.

Abbie turned and pinned Katrina with a steely stare, "Then by all means, try it again. Maybe after it's knocked you on your ass enough times, you'll get it that it won't let you in. Have you considered that this barrier was created by Crane to keep you out, that whatever is going on, he doesn't want you involved?"

"That's absurd." Katrina snapped.

"Really?" Abbie countered. "For 200 years he's sealed away in a cave, you get locked in Purgatory. Has it, somewhere in that head of yours, occurred to you that you two are the problem? You create chaos wherever you go." She snarled. Ever since Katrina had rejoined them, it was one disaster after another.

"You know nothing of my life with Ichabod, of our love." Katrina shouted.

"Oh, please…" Abbie scoffed. "I've had to hear about you from the first moment I met him. The only time I got a break from stories of you was when we were fighting for our lives against Moloch, or trying to stop the apocalypse, or facing off against a Horseman that you two created." Shaking her said she added, "Don't you dare stand there and tell me I know nothing." Abbie didn't know what had pushed her to say such things when it wasn't her place, but she wouldn't back down now.

"Do you think for one moment you could ever compare to me in his eyes?" Katrina asked.

"At least I tell the truth." Abbie answered. This statement alone made Katrina turn her gaze away. She shook her head, took a deep breath, and tried to get a handle on what was annoying her so much. To her credit Katrina looked away with a flash of shame in her eyes.

Jenny did the smart thing and stood back, keeping out of this battle of wills between her sister and Katrina. It wasn't her place to jump right in, later she would try and mend fences, but Abbie had to do this. Rather than let them continue to argue she redirected the topic, "Abbie, what should we do?" She asked again. Abbie was the Witness, the one they looked to for answers, for a plan.

"Looks like I'm going in there." Abbie sighed. She slipped the sling off her shoulder to free her arm much to Jenny's disapproving look. Once more she touched her hand to the barrier; it was warm and inviting. With a deep breath, without hesitation, she walked through and then dropped to the ground. _Abbie opened her eyes surrounded by trees, the sun shining. She wasn't in the tent, there was no barrier. "Ok…" She breathed out. This wasn't the strangest thing to have happened to her. She'd been attacked by a headless horseman, then put on trial by a faceless nightmare monster for abandoning Jenny, found out that George Washington had been a zombie, and then locked up in Purgatory. _

_Ichabod's attention had been focused on Mary when he felt this pull to turn his head, to look through the trees. He did so without hesitation and it was there that he saw Abbie. She had her back to him. He didn't stop to question why she was there. His heart just soared seeing her. "Abbie!" Ichabod shouted. He started out walking towards her, but his legs lengthened in stride, and before he knew it he was running towards her. _

_Abbie turned when she heard her name. There was Ichabod, he was running towards her. Like in Purgatory, like she had the night of her injury, she rant to him as well. Ichabod's arms closed around her, lifting her against him. Her arms went over his shoulders, fingers tangling in his hair. "Oh, my god." She gasped out, relief flowing through her. He was alright. He was holding her. "What's going on?" Abbie asked quickly._

_Ichabod lowered Abbie back to the ground, his hands moving up to cup her face. "How did you get here?" He couldn't believe he was touching her, holding her. Ichabod was held firmly in disbelief that she was here. "Please do not be a trick of the mind." He pleaded, his hands tightening slightly on her face._

"_I'm not…" Abbie spoke quickly. "I'm right here." She added. _

_Once more Ichabod asked, "How'd you enter my dreamscape?"_

"_I don't know and it's freaking me out." Abbie answered. "Seamus called, said something had happened to you. When he brought me to your tent, there was this blue barrier. Katrina tried to get through but it sent her flying back when she touched it. I touched it, and it let me through." _

"_Seems your heart has made the choice your brain refuses to acknowledge yet." _

_Abbie looked beyond Ichabod to see Mary Wells standing mere feet from therm. "Crane?" She started to draw back but was held firm by Ichabod's hand. "She supposed to be dead…." At her words Mary chuckled._

"_It's ok," Ichabod soothed. "Mary is a conjuring of my mind to help me see what I have long denied." Setting aside his former intended, Ichabod caressed Abbie's cheek with his thumbs. A small sigh escaped. "It's you…." He breathed out. His mind finally catching up with what his heart already knew. _


End file.
